North East schools head to Robotics World Championships… again.
5th April 2024
Three north east schools, one secondary and two primary schools, will head to the USA at the end of this month to compete in the 2024 VEX IQ Robotics World Championships taking place in Dallas, alongside 60+ teams from countries globally.
In the 2024 VEX UK National Championships 144 teams with over one 1000 competitors from Year 4 right through to Year 13 competed in hundreds of matches, until three sets of National Champions were crowned.
At the national finals nine separate awards were received by North East primary schools in the elementary division including best teacher for Georgina Dye from Bill Quay Primary School. This is awarded to only one teacher for their dedication and commitment. Two of the schools, Wardley & Bill Quay won places at Vex world finals in Texas for the second time, and in the middle school division Tanfield Secondary School won a place at the finals for the first time, with Durham Johnston and Whickham School finishing fifth.
The national event is the culmination of over 70 regional events bringing teams from across the country together. Here in the north east we supported regional events at Nissan and Newcastle University, enabling local schools to compete regionally in February and then nationally in March, and now three teams will receive financial support towards the costs of the trip to Dallas from the Reece Foundation.
The competition relies on Event Partners who have supported the teams to the final, and many volunteers and judges, including Faye Dent, our Grants Manager who is an event partner and judge. This commitment helps support schools in the North East to compete and inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists right across the region.
Anne Reece, Chair of The Reece Foundation said: “We are very proud to be able to support the schools in their adventures in the Robotics World Championships. It’s great to see the continued success of north east teams and the legacy it brings – its far more than just robots – it’s about improving STEM education, training and employment opportunities to benefit the region.”
Paul Mcknight, Head of Operations, Vex Robotics said, “I’d like to thank the Reece Foundation, their support is impacting the lives of thousands of young people in the North East.”
The 2024 VEX Robotics UK National Championships is an exciting series of events that promote STEM education by bringing together students aged 8 to 18 who have worked hard to design, build, and program robots to compete in educational and exciting game-based engineering challenges, taking on both autonomous and remote-controlled tasks with their robots.
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