CEC Hosts Prestigious FIRST LEGO® League Regional Final

Cowes Enterprise College proudly hosted the Isle of Wight regional final for the FIRST LEGO® League competition. The event showcased remarkable innovation, teamwork, and problem-solving skills from students across the region.

This year’s competition theme, “Submerged,” challenged participants to explore underwater environments and their interactions with human activities. From rebuilding coral reefs to recovering treasure from shipwrecks, students tackled a variety of oceanic challenges.

Cowes Enterprise College’s team delivered an outstanding performance, achieving a score of 175 points and winning the prestigious Robot Design Award. Their research focused on ocean acidification caused by global warming and explored how kelp can help combat climate change. The team proposed innovative ways robots could assist in planting, maintaining, and harvesting kelp.

The FIRST LEGO® League is a global competition with an impressive reach of 4,000 events and 700,000 participating students worldwide, boasting over 30 seasons of development.

Teams had just 10 weeks to design, build, and program autonomous LEGO® robots capable of completing as many of the 14 challenges as possible within a two-and-a-half-minute match. Each team competed in three rounds, with their highest score determining their final ranking.

The competition also required students to present innovative research projects addressing design problems related to the underwater theme. Teams were evaluated on the FIRST Core Values of “Discovery, Inclusion, Innovation, Teamwork, Impact, and Fun” in a Dragons’ Den-style presentation.

Principal Rachel Kitley said:

“Our students exemplified excellence throughout this competition, demonstrating not only technical skills but also critical thinking and collaboration. Their innovative approach to addressing real-world environmental challenges through technology perfectly aligns with our strong STEM education program and complements our Maritime Futures curriculum, which prepares students for careers in our island’s vital maritime sector.”

A huge well done to our team, who demonstrated outstanding skill, perseverance, and teamwork throughout the day. Congratulations to all the participants, and best of luck to the winning team as they head to the national final in Harrogate later this spring!