In an unprecedented series of events, Clore Tikva won first place in The VEX IQ Challenge UK National Championship 2022 held at The International Centre in Telford on the 25th of April 2022. 57 teams consisting of both primary and secondary schools participated in the event in alliance matches which climaxed with the separation of the primary school division from the secondary school division. The primary school tournament ended with Clore Tikva staking their claims as to the Team Work Champions of 2021/2022 VEX robotics Nationals.
Clore Tikva School’s Robotics club was founded in October 2021. In November of the same year, the club, formed by a mixture of Year 5 and Year 6 children, bravely attended their first competition at a secondary school in Finborough. They had only 4 weeks to build and code their robot. With no prior experience or technical expertise, they bravely confronted their first obstacle. They attended the competition with untested robots, no codes and an attitude to learn and be completely immersed in the experience. At their first competition, they were initially intimidated by the fact that most of their competitors were secondary school children but they rose above their fears and immersed themselves in the competition. By the end of their first regional competition, a Clore Tikva team was ranked 3rd place and a member of their team was able to complete their first code. This tenacity has been the central story of Clore Tikva’s Robotics Club and all their achievements.
The teams came home from their first competition with many ideas about how to remodel their robots, improve codes and build new codes. They all grew in communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking skills as each competition really put them to the test.
Each competition consists of alliance matches where teams have to come together to work collaboratively with each other. To have the best experience in an alliance match, teams will need to communicate with teams from another school, make a strategy, test, and perfect each strategy before their alliance match commences. In addition, they must manage their time throughout the competition to perfect their codes and driver skills before they undertake the Robot Skills Challenges without missing any of their scheduled matches. Where robots have broken down or malfunctioned during competition, teams have had to think critically and creatively under pressure to solve problems.
With first-hand experience and many upgrades, Clore Tikva school attended their 3rd regional competition with gusto and confidence. No longer intimidated by secondary school teams, they commenced their matches with a trajectory to the top. They came home in first place, with 4 awards, and qualifications for VEX national and international competitions. If the funds for the trip were to have been available, they would have represented the UK at The 2022 VEX Robotics World Championship – VEX IQ Challenge Elementary School Event in Dallas, Texas, United States.
Attending their first National was their biggest challenge yet. With a two-day long competition, a mixture of emotions throughout the competition, levelling up skills and competence and keeping their spirits high, they grew from strength to strength. All teams achieved new personal best in coding, management, and robot driving skills. In this competition, no robots needed modifications as no repairs were needed, which was a testament to how much they had grown in their knowledge of engineering throughout the season!
Head Teacher Margot Buller said ‘We at Clore Tikva are so proud of our children and how they have represented themselves, the school, and the local community at large.
We would also like to thank the REC foundation, CGI, parents, and all school staff whose support has made this a dream come true.
A new challenge has been launched and our budding engineers will be welcoming new members and new challenges for the next season. We would like to invite our local community to support them so this year we can make it all the way to America or perhaps a capacity for having more teams’.
