Canterbury trio named IET FIRST LEGO League UK Champions

Three teens from the Simon Langton schools in Canterbury have won a trip to the FIRST LEGO League World Festival, after winning the national final of the IET's FIRST LEGO League (FLL) UK robotics competition.

‘Team Invicta’ were winners at the Kent and Medway regional finals, hosted at the University of Kent in December 2013. They went on to compete in the national final at Loughborough University on 1 February 2014 and will now compete in the FLL world festival in the USA.

Over 250 pupils from schools across Kent took part in the First Lego League regional finals at the University’s Canterbury campus on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 December 2013. The event was covered by ITV Merdian news (video here).

First Lego League is an international programme designed to bring science to life for school-children aged nine to sixteen through themed activities, including a hands-on robot challenge and scientific research.

This year's competition – entitled 'Nature's Fury' – challenged teams from across the UK and Ireland to find a solution to tackle the effects of natural disasters. The Invicta team invented a hi-tech wristband for those affected by earthquakes, designed to help rescue workers find people trapped under rubble using radio waves.

First Lego League is hosted by the University’s Partnership Development Office alongside the School of Computing. It aims to get young people thinking about the application of technology in real life situations and involves individually designed robots, made using the LEGO® MINDSTORMS equipment.