Boost the BarrelBots to the Final and Beyond!

We are Team BarrelBots – a group of students aged 11 to 14 years old with a passion for Robotics and Technology at The King’s School, Ottery St Mary. This year, we entered the First Tech Challenge for the first time and won the Judges’ Connect award. As a result, the team have been invited to take part in the National Competition to be held at Cambridge University in June.

Transport and accommodation for the trips have a real impact on the team's finances, and we wish to raise funds to assist with the costs incurred. All our funding has been raised by support from our local businesses without whom the team would not have made such progress.

Our students are developing the skills ready for their role in adult life. They are excited about STEM subjects including Electronics, Mechanical Systems, Programming, Computer Aided Design and 3d Printing along with the Project Management, Promotion and Financial Management that this project requires.

We’re looking for support from the wider community to allow our team to reach its full potential.

FIRST Tech Challenge empowers young people aged 12-18 with the technical knowledge and soft skills to thrive in STEM and beyond. Working like teams in industry, they design, build and program a robot to compete at progressive events. Over 120 teams competed at qualifying tournaments and up to 40 teams will compete nationally at the UK champs in Cambridge this June. The challenge is run by charity, FIRST UK, with a mission to make STEM less intimidating, more diverse and inclusive.

In 2023:

● 71% now wish to pursue a career in STEM

● 41% identify as girls or non-binary

● 37% are from ethnically diverse backgrounds For more info, visit www.morethanrobots.uk

Beyond the National Competition in June, we wish to extend the resources for the club and enter the competition next year. For this, we need to be prepared to fund the registration fee and the transport costs.

Our team regularly posts on Social Media and here you can track our progress.

Find us on: Instagram @ftc_barrelbots and Twitter (X) @ftc_barrelbots