QE boys are now counting down to the VEX Robotics World Championships after three of the School’s teams qualified for the trip to Texas.
Teams Gearsquad, Constellation and CircuitBreakers will be heading for the States at the end of this month, having maintained strong performances at the national championships in Telford.
Head of Technology Michael Noonan lauded their achievement, pointing out that the three teams had qualified even though the number of places on offer to UK teams has been halved this year. And he singled out the Year 8 CircuitBreakers team (pictured top) for a special mention: “Their success is all the more remarkable, given they are in their first season.”
The teams, all from the IQ age category (Years 8–9), will travel to the VIQRC world championships, which run from 1st–3rd May in The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas. They will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of previous QE boys who have achieved success on this international stage, including the 2018 team named VEX IQ World Champions after winning the overall Excellence Award.
The three 2024 qualifiers sealed their qualification at the recent UK national championships, in which all 11 QE robotics teams took part.
In the VRC (Years 10 & 12) age group, Override was a divisional top-ranked team, while fellow Year 12 team Hybrid was a divisional finalist.
Among the younger boys, Gearsquad and CircuitBreakers returned from Telford with a trio of awards apiece, while there were single awards for Hybrix and Constellation. The accolades included: Teamwork Champion and Innovate awards for Gearsquad; Robot Skills Champion and Amaze awards for CircuitBreakers; a Think Award for Hybrix; and a Build Award for Constellation.
Earlier in the Spring Term, both Year 12 teams travelled to Calgary, Canada, for a competition involving 132 teams. (This was arranged because QE sixth-formers cannot be considered for the world championships owing to their Summer Term public examination commitments). Their fellow competitors came mostly from across North America and included former world and national champions.
“QE performed well, ranking 25th and 26th in their divisions of 60-plus teams and both successfully being selected at Alliance Selection, being unfortunate to be knocked out at the round of 16, “said Mr Noonan. “Students loved the experience, despite the cold temperatures, particularly commenting on the beauty of Calgary.”
Last term, QE was also the host for a regional robotics challenge – the VIQRC Full Volume QE Battle for Barnet – where Gearsquad were among the winners.