Because engineering should be accessible to all
Published: Tue 20 Dec 2022
Two teams from the school went to the Cornwall regional tournament and one – Creative Coders – won a place at the England and Wales National Final.
For their IT teacher, Jacob Woolcock, this was a moment of pride having first taken part in FIRST® LEGO® League as a student in 2003.
“I’ve been keen to take part for a few years but without the incredibly generous support from the IET and the Wates Family Enterprise Trust, we simply couldn’t have made it work.
With a closer regional event, I signed us up immediately as I knew what a powerful experience it would be for the children.
The students we took back after the regional final were not the same students we took to the competition. Their confidence, friendships, problem-solving skills, stamina and resilience have all increased beyond belief.
From realising that they were competing against teams made up of 16-year-olds to suddenly having the pressure of a live audience, countdown clock and referees as they were trying to concentrate.
Each time it happened those children learnt a little something new about themselves and what they were capable of.
Back in 2003 I was in secondary school and loved technology and computing! I was fortunate enough to be a part of our school’s FIRST® LEGO® League team back then and we enjoyed the experience immensely.
It gave me the confidence to be myself, speak up, be a part of the team, and try new things.
This was such a transformative experience for our primary school from a small town in Cornwall.”
Jacob Woolcock