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Three Year 9 boys are through to the national finals of the Big Bang competition after their idea for a hi-tech device to replace the white sticks used by the blind impressed both the judges and the visiting crowds at the London regional heat.

The boys’ Device to Aid the Visually Impaired is an ergonomic headset housing complicated circuitry that uses object-detection algorithms to warn users of hazards lurking nearby.

Aryan Jindal, Bhunit Santhiramoulesan and Ashwin Sridhar made full use of the opportunity to showcase their work and discuss it with spectators stopping by their stand at the Big Bang London Central event hosted by Westminster Kingsway College at Kings Cross. The Big Bang programme comprises a national Big Bang competition and a series of events across the country, all aimed at bringing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) to life for younger people.

Head of Technology Michael Noonan said: “The students created this device in our dedicated design area and they hope the project will help provide a cheap and affordable alternative to the stick and other measures that visually impaired people are currently offered.”

“The device proved to be a major hit among spectators and judges alike, so it was perhaps unsurprising that the boys succeeded in being selected for the Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers competition next year, where they will present to thousands of visitors in the NEC in Birmingham.

“Suitably impressed by the demonstration of the technology, one computer scientist from a major company even left his contact details with regard to future collaboration: the company is looking at using the same type of technology in CCTV in large railway stations to help monitor who is using the facility and to detect potential threats to public safety.”

One of the trio, Aryan, said afterwards: “This was my first STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics] enrichment activity outside of School and I loved it! I was really nervous before the judges visited, but by the time we had to speak with them it was fine, and by the time the second panel came it was more like a conversation than a presentation. I can’t wait to go to the national finals and we will try to develop our work even further for this.”

Also displaying their work at Big Bang London were a team of Year 12 students on the eve of their appearance at the finals of the International STEM Youth Innovation Competition at the Royal Air Force Museum in Colindale, London. Deeps Gandhi, Aryan Jain, Simon Sherriff, Ben Domb and Tarun Bhaskaran secured their place there by designing and building a glider drone to help in the conservation of black rhinos.

“It proved to be a useful exercise, as the boys had the chance to speak with fellow competitors and mentors from around the world, as well as preparing the final touches to their presentation for the following day and staging a practice flight,” said Mr Noonan.

A QE Sixth Form team competes this week in the finals of a new international STEM education competition after impressing judges with their plans to use technology in the struggle to protect endangered animals.

They will be up against teams from all over the world competing to show how drones could be deployed to conserve species threatened with extinction.

The boys brought in advanced Mathematics and used 3D printing and complex electronics in developing their entry proposal and making their own glider drone.

The finals of the International STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Youth Innovation Competition are being held at the Royal Air Force Museum, in London.

Head of Technology Michael Noonan said: “I am proud of the team and of the hard work they have put into this competition. From the initial selection of animal species to the creation of the report and to the development of the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] according to their designs, it was all the result of the team’s own little-by-little exploration and progression.”

The competition is organised by the British International Education Association (BIEA). Run for the first time last year, it was open only to British pupils, attracting entries from more than 2,000 schools. This year, it has been opened up to schools from around the world.

The 2019 theme is Fighting extinction using drone technology. There is a first prize of £5,000 for the team with the highest overall score.

QE’s team, who are all from Year 12, are in the 15-17 year-old age category. The team comprises: Tarun Bhaskaran, Ben Domb, Deeps Gandhi, Aryan Jain and Simon Sherriff.

The team initially drew up a long list of endangered animals and explored the role drones could play in protecting them. As a result of these discussions, they decided to develop glider drones.

For their choice of subject, they wanted an animal with a large distribution area, so picked the black rhinoceros. Further research followed, as a result of which the team embraced military surveillance techniques to monitor black rhino populations effectively, while also using a complex equation to calculate the appropriate pixel resolution for the final design.

They decided to build the required drone themselves. This meant they could show off their ideas to best effect, but naturally made the process more challenging.

To meet this challenge, the team divided themselves into three sections and worked separately before coming together to provide the finished entry. One group was responsible for electronics, another for the video and a third for the fuselage. The electronics group focused on providing the control system and system compatibility; the video group made the video submission, wrote scripts, arranged 3D printing and coordinated the budget, and the fuselage group designed the chassis and structure of the drone.

The competition’s final deadline coincided with School examinations. This left the boys with some tricky time-management issues, which they resolved by drawing up a detailed division of work, all carefully scheduled outside of examination study time. The 14-hour days paid off when they duly submitted the report on time and then heard that they were among the finalists.

Having swept all before them at the UK national VEX Robotics finals, a record four junior teams set off for the world championships in Kentucky, together with a newly formed senior team.

And great as their achievement was in qualifying for the world championships, there were still greater triumphs to come, as the junior (IQ) teams picked up a string of awards, with one of them – Technogear – becoming the first-ever UK team to reach the Teamwork Challenge finals, held in the 20,000-seater Freedom Hall.

This year’s competitors were building on the success of 2018, when the awards won in Kentucky by QE included the first-ever world title – the Excellence Award – to be won by a UK school.

QE’s Head of Technology Michael Noonan, who accompanied the boys to the US this year, said afterwards: “Although Technogear narrowly missed out on an overall podium finish, this couldn’t detract from their high spirits, nor from the immense pride felt by mentors, VEX UK staff and members of other UK teams in their incredible achievement in winning their division and reaching the Teamwork Challenge finals.

“All the QE students felt that their experiences in Louisville, the Kentucky Exposition Center and the Freedom hall were once-in-a-lifetime,” added Mr Noonan, who had himself earlier been crowned Teacher of the Year at the VEX Robotics UK national finals in Telford. “Having paused to enjoy the rollercoasters and fun of the Kentucky Kingdom amusement park, they have already started planning for next year!”

Mr Noonan also asked Technogear drivers Yash Shah and Anubhav Rathore how they felt while they were waiting for the final results to come in. “This is the best day of my life. I don’t care if we win or not; this experience alone has been incredible, and incredibly beats that of winning the Excellence Award last year!” said Yash, while Anubhav expressed similar sentiments: “It doesn’t really matter if we win or not. Just getting here, to meet all of these people from around the world and share our experiences and make new friendships, is reward enough.”

The QE teams’ path to Kentucky was confirmed after their barnstorming performances at the national finals in Telford in March. Eight teams (three from the senior EDR competition, for pupils in Years 10–13 and five IQ teams, for Years 5-9) competed: the EDR teams were APEX, Cobra and HYBRID; the IQ teams were Gearsquad, Hyperdrive, ECHO, Technogear and Supercharge.

“After a tough first day, all three EDR teams were excellently placed for qualification, with HYBRID and APEX in particular in commanding positions,” said Mr Noonan. In the later stages, however, the EDR teams found the competition tough. Nevertheless, Team Cobra won the Innovate Award, when “their unusual ‘side-shooting’ design caught the judges’ eye”. It was HYBRID, however, who came away with the top prize – the overall Excellence Award. This, Mr Noonan said, was “for a terrific performance in all aspects of the competition, ranging from judging interviews and coding an efficient autonomous routine to overall performance in the teamwork championship”. This award sealed the team’s entry to the world championships for the second year running.

Starting a day later, the IQ competitors were spurred on by the success of their older Elizabethan counterparts. “There was an air of trepidation amongst the Queen Elizabeth’s IQ teams when they arrived at Telford, as the British season leading up to these finals had been highly competitive, and the teams had never found it as difficult to accrue regional awards. However, it was clear from the outset that the teams from Barnet were intent on changing that fact, with some of the highest scores of the day set right from the outset by Gearsquad (30, 28) and Supercharge (27).”

In the final rounds at Telford, “the greatest shock of the entire competition” occurred, when a pairing of QE’s ECHO with a team from Highgate School scored 38 points, thus setting a new UK record and equalling the current world record.

The last day ended in triumph for QE, with IQ teams from the School taking first, second and third places in the Teamwork competition and also winning the Skills championship. In addition: ECHO and Supercharge both won an Amaze Award; Gearsquad won the Build Award; Hyperdrive won the Judges Award, and Technogear took both the Sportsmanship and Design awards. Four IQ teams qualified for the world finals in Louisville – ECHO, Gearsquad, Supercharge and Technogear.

At EDR level, examination commitments meant that some of the HYBRID team were unable to make the trip to Kentucky, so boys from the APEX team were drafted in as replacements. “As if competing against 600 of the world’s finest teams (the equivalent of the top 1%) was not enough of a challenge, the prospect of forming a new team with just one month to go added to the overall difficulty,” said Mr Noonan.

On arrival in Louisville, after enjoying the ceremonial Parade of Nations, the new team threw themselves enthusiastically into the inter-team co-operation that is an important facet of VEX Robotics. “The students made their way to competition on the first day and began to strategise (sometimes in Mandarin and Spanish) with other teams from around the globe.”

After a successful first day of practice, day two brought mixed fortunes – won 2, lost 2 – and day three brought a three-game losing streak after an initial victory. “To their immense credit, they rallied and recorded two excellent wins in their final two games, finishing with a 5-6 win:loss ratio. “The students were not despondent but proud of their efforts, especially when the judges bestowed the Service Award on the team, recognising their efforts both in mentoring younger teams in school and in the technology ‘Showcase.’ This represents the first award won by this school at EDR level in the World Championships.”

With its record contingent at IQ level, QE contributed to the general excitement felt among the UK teams. “Having attended the World Championships last year, Technogear were well placed to pass on their experience of the event to their less-experienced school mates, and an overall great air of co-operation was evident amongst the QE teams,” said Mr Noonan.

Initial results were patchy, with ECHO’s 30 points the highlight. On the second day, Gearsquad battled through some tough fixtures before combining with girls from The Henrietta Barnett School to finish the day with “a fantastic 38”. Mr Noonan said: “As day two closed, the QE teams were ranked in or around the top 20, with the exception of Technogear, who were temporarily languishing at 59th.”

Day three saw Technogear bounce back in style: “Paired with Dragon Tech. from California (an early favourite for world glory), they equalled the world record with a seismic 41 points!” – a performance that led to their ranking instantly soaring to 15th. “No doubt inspired by their actions, all the other QE teams opened in similarly strong fashion.”

From that position, all the QE teams could theoretically have gone on to qualify for the final stages, but for ECHO, Gearsquad and Supercharge, it was not to be, although ECHO were able to take solace in an extremely strong season which left them ranked as the world’s 19th highest team for skills.

Paired once again with Dragon Tech., Technogear continued to score highly. In the middle match of the divisional final, their 40-point tally proved decisive. “The nervous wait watching the remaining final games of the division proved difficult for Technogear and the Queen Elizabeth’s teams, but ultimately their score stood, and they were crowned champions of the Arts Division: they were heading to the World Teamwork Finals in the 20,000 seater-Freedom Hall and a worldwide audience of many thousands on the livestream!”

Once in this daunting arena, where the huge audience included the other QE teams and staff, “the cool and collected demeanour” of both Technogear and their Californian allies was impressive, Mr Noonan reported. They were, he said, perhaps unfortunate to score only 33 after a valiant battle on the competition floor. “This left QE in 3rd place, and with a chance of the podium, but ultimately the final two would outscore them, leaving Technogear in fifth place.”

Technogear not only won a Champions Trophy for winning their division, but also took an Innovate Award. Supercharge picked up the Build Award for their division, while Gearsquad picked up the Sportsmanship Award. This was just reward for Gearsquad’s “fantastic attitude”, Mr Noonan reported – an attitude reflected in the comments of Gearsquad team member Darren Lee: “We said that we’d congratulate our drivers and our partners’ drivers after every game, regardless of whether we set a world record or had a tough score to take, and that proved to be the best part of the experience.”

During the trip, the QE boys took the opportunity to see attractions including the picturesque Waterfront Park, the Muhammad Ali Museum and the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory, while also enjoying the spectacle of a baseball game between the local Louisville Bats and the Durham Bulls.

• The EDR teams at the national finals were:
  • APEX – Nirmay Jadhav, Swattik Das, Ansh Jaiswal, Siddh Patel, George Sewell and Lucas Lu, all from Year 10
  • Cobra – Jimmy Ou, Leo Yang, Akram Ahmad and Mahdi Dhirani, all from Year 12
  • HYBRID – Dillan Shah, of Year 10; Alex Woodcock, of Year 10; Kayan Intwala, of Year 10; Deshraam Ganeshamoorthy, of Year 11; James Tan, of Year 11; Daniel Radzik-Rahman, of Year 11, and Devin Karia, of Year 11.
• The IQ teams were:
  • Gearsquad – Niyam Shah, Jai Akilesh Kaza Venkata, Darren Lee, Nathan Woodcock and Dipesh Dhavala, all from Year 8
  • Hyperdrive – Shivam Singh, Aadarsh Aggarwal, Ashish Yeruva, Aarush Verma, Vedant Shah, Maxwell Johnson and Varun Srirambhatla, all from Year 8
  • ECHO – Heemy Kalam, Bhunit Santhiramouselan, Indy Potluri, Akhil Walia and Abhiraj Singh, all from Year 9
  • Technogear – Dylan Domb, Yash Shah, Anubhav Rathore, Ashwin Sridhar and Anish Rana, all from Year 9
  • Supercharge – Arya Bhatt, Pranav Chawla, Raghav Rajaganesh, Chakshu Chopra, Frank Zhang, all from Year 9.

Two senior QE teams have qualified for the national finals of the VEX EDR robotics competition after convincing performances in the regional rounds.

The teams are aiming to build on the School’s success last year, when QE junior boys competing in the parallel VEX IQ competition not only reached the World Championships in the USA but were crowned the UK’s first-ever world champions. A VEX EDR team from QE also qualified for the World Championships, where they achieved the best-ever result for a UK team.

In this year’s competition, Team Hybrid (pictured top), comprising boys from Year 10 and 11, stormed through to the national finals after being crowned Teamwork Champions and losing only one of their nine matches when they competed at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire.

Cobra, a new team comprising Year 12 boys competing in their first-ever VEX EDR event, have also qualified for the nationals, which take place in Telford in March. They performed strongly throughout the round held at St Olave’s Grammar School in Orpington, where they finished third in the Skills Challenge. And in the next round, at The Henrietta Barnett School, they successfully reached both the knockout stage and the final, where they lost by a mere three points.

A third QE team, Apex, all from Year 10, still holds hope of qualifying for the national finals in the coming weeks. In the tournament at St Olave’s, Apex won the Judges’ Award for the design and construction of their robot and reached the semi-finals, where they lost out to the team which went on to win the round. Apex also performed strongly at HBS: like Cobra, they reached the knockout stages, where once again they were eliminated by the eventual overall winners.

The boys were accompanied at the tournaments by Technology teachers Alexander Vaughan and Charlie-Maud Munro. Mr Vaughan said: “My congratulations go to all the boys for their accomplishment. Hybrid and Cobra and are now looking forward to the national finals, with the latter team’s feat in reaching them particularly impressive, given their inexperience in VEX.”

The VEX EDR system has elements designed to fit each other easily, thus enabling seamless integration. The competitions typically feature a series of games in which teams’ robots are given points for accomplishing tasks such as stacking items, scoring goals and parking successfully. Teams are required to collaborate, as well as compete against others.

Several regional events are held, with the qualifying teams then going through to national finals and, ultimately, the World Championship, where the very best from almost 8,500 teams worldwide battle it out. There is a variety of prizes at each level, including awards for design, teamwork and all-round excellence.

This year’s QE VEX EDR teams are:
Team Apex: Swattik Das, Nirmay Jadhav, Ansh Jaiswal, Lucas Lu, Siddh Patel and George Sewell, all of Year 10
Team Cobra: Akram Ahmad, Mahdi Dhirani, Jimmy Ou and Leo Yang, all of Year 12
Team Hybrid: Dillan Shah and Alex Woodcock both of Year 10; Deshraam Ganeshamoorthy, Devin Karia, Daniel Radzik-Rahman and James Tan all of Year 11.

Sixth-former Dylan Vekaria has been awarded a prestigious engineering scholarship with the RAF after successfully negotiating a rigorous selection progress.

Year 12’s Dylan received his Arkwright Engineering Scholarship, which is funded by the RAF Charitable Trust, from Group Captain Tony Keeling at a special ceremony at the Institute of Engineering and Technology, based in central London.

The Arkwright Scholarship Trust is a charity which aims to identify talented, potential top engineers, and to encourage them to pursue the subject at university. The scholarships themselves are awarded to high-ability students to support them through their Sixth Form studies. Every scholarship is sponsored by a commercial company, trade association, university, professional institution, armed service, government organisation or charitable trust.

Under the scheme, the pupil is awarded £600 while a further £400 goes to the School:  QE will spend it on resources and equipment. The scholarship runs over two years and is reviewed at the end of the first year.

Dylan, who is pictured with RAF Charitable Trust Director Justine Morton, can now benefit from hands-on work experience and support for curriculum projects, as well as the opportunity to be linked to a personal mentor.

Technology teacher Tony Green, who accompanied Dylan to the ceremony, said: “Dylan has done very well to secure this scholarship and the certificate rightly recognises his ‘outstanding potential as a future leader in Engineering’.”

Applicants are required to take a rigorous online aptitude test, lasting for two hours. After passing this Dylan had to attend a 20-minute interview before being matched with a sponsoring organisation – in his case the RAF.

The Arkwright Scholarships were established in 1991. The charity was named after the 18th Century engineer, Sir Richard Arkwright (1732–1792), who perfected the water frame and who is widely regarded as the father of the modern factory system.

Boys in Year 8 pitted their talents against each other in a competitive Dragons’ Den-style challenge, first designing an innovative product and then pitching it at the end of the day.

The event, held as part of the School’s Enrichment Week, aimed to get boys using skills in the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).

They had to design a product to solve a real-world problem, while also considering their marketing and business proposition. To create their prototypes, the participants were allocated a budget which they could use to buy the basic materials (such as card, tape and wooden sticks) from a ‘market’ in the hall.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This event encompassed problem-solving and combining knowledge of science, product design, technology, finance and business acumen to come up with a new product that was a practical proposition – and all in the space of a day. The boys successfully produced some very interesting and promising proposals.”

All boys in Year 8 took part in the challenge, which was split across two days. It was led by Simon Kettle, Executive Director of STEMworks, a not-for-profit company dedicated to promoting STEM. Simon also judged the boys’ projects.

Afterwards, Simon said: “The students were given the opportunity to design and develop ideas that use some new, cutting-edge technologies. I talked through a few new materials and the associated technology – and the students did the rest. They came up with a wide range of new product ideas, with the best being presented in the Dragons’ Den.”

The winners’ product on the first day, which they named SOLAcharge, used small portable solar panels to charge a mobile phone. The second-day winners designed Simon’s particular favourite – SafeSensors, a sports helmet which not only protected the head but also had built-in impact sensors that could notify the team coach or doctor of any impact that would require a player to be treated or substituted (in cases of concussion, for example).

Other ideas included mobile phones with in-built smoke alarms, smart baths (that would self-regulate temperature and could not over-fill), and even a helmet capable of styling the wearer’s hair!