The LYRA team (Langton Year 9-11 Robotics Association) at Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School competed in the regionals of the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Challenge at Canterbury Christ Church University.   

On the 23rd of February, eight teams from schools across Kent gathered to compete. LYRA and two of their teachers –Mr Edwards and Professor Parker- took the minibus to the competition venue, nerves and excitement fizzing amongst them.   

FLL is a global STEM competition, where young people work in teams to design, build and program an autonomous LEGO robot to complete missions, and identify a real-life problem based on the annual theme and then invent an innovative solution (Innovation Project). Professor Becky Parker praised the competition and said: “It was an excellent event showing incredible imagination, ingenuity, and passion of young people. The volunteers from industry enabled staff and students to get insights into their companies and offered fantastic career ideas for students.”  

LYRA was up first to present their project to three of the judges. EcoEnigma is a gamified app targeted for young people with bite-sized, fun tasks that promote eco-friendly habits, protect the environment and reduce eco-anxiety. Every completed task earns points that contribute to your virtual garden, which grows and flourishes the more points you earn.  

It went better than they could have hoped: the judges loved their project. They presented their Robot Design afterwards, which was all about the build, programming and strategy of their robot. The team answered all the judges’ questions with clarity and surety. The tournament was off to a positive start. 

Then came the Robot Game rounds. Each team had three chances throughout the day for their robot to score as many points as possible on the challenge mat in a two-and-a-half minute time frame. Although the first round didn’t go so well, the team quickly re-tested and improved their robot on the practice mat. This paid off beautifully, and their robot scored an impressive 230 then 245 points in the next rounds.    

Throughout the tournament, LYRA embodied the Core Values of the Challenge, supporting their teammates and other teams alike with relentless enthusiasm. Mr Charles Edwards said: “The girls showcased exceptional performance, demonstrating remarkable teamwork and resilience throughout...[and] collaborated seamlessly....[demonstrating] maturity at all levels, throughout the day.” 

The competition closed with the judging ceremony as they waited with bated breath for the announcement of the trophy awards.  

Much to their happiness, LYRA were awarded the Core Values trophy, and Professor Parker received the Coach Award. However, the Innovation Project, Robot Game and Robot Design trophies went to other schools, and ultimately the team narrowly lost out on the Overall trophy that meant they would have gone through to the national finals. 

Nevertheless, LYRA performed extremely well despite the setbacks they faced during the season, and impressed the judges throughout the whole tournament. No matter the outcome, they thoroughly loved the experience. The team say they can’t wait for next year.