On Tuesday 22nd June, Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited, the home of Hotpoint, Indesit, Whirlpool and KitchenAid brands, hosted the second annual tournament of the FIRST® LEGO® League in Peterborough, which saw primary school children from across Peterborough compete virtually. Team Lightning LEGO girls from Elton Primary School were crowned the winners of the ultimate prize, the Champion’s Award, while teams from Lime Watergall Academy, Buckden Academy, Bishop Creighton Academy and Longthorpe Primary School took home additional prizes.
In addition, on Wednesday 23rd June, seven teams from primary schools across Bristol competed virtually in Whirlpool UK’s first ever FIRST® LEGO® League Bristol tournament. Team Jeremy from Frenchay Primary School was crowned the winner of the ultimate Champion’s Award, with Hambrook Primary School, St Paul’s Catholic Primary school, Courtney Primary School and Meadowbrook Primary School taking home additional prizes.
This year’s tournaments took place virtually, with teams submitting their live matches via recordings throughout the day, to be carefully adjudicated by a panel of industry judges. The teams, made up of primary school children aged nine to 11 and led by either a member of school staff or a parent, had all committed months of time and preparation to the challenge.
As the winners of the Champion’s Awards, Lightning LEGO Girls and Team Jeremy School will now progress to the IET FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge England and Wales Final, which will be taking place virtually on 2nd July. As part of the prize, the Lightning LEGO Girls have also been invited for a tour and hands-on experience of Whirlpool’s UK headquarters in Peterborough, with Team Jeremy invited to tour Whirlpool’s UK Manufacturing Centre in Yate near Bristol. Both winning schools will also be gifted £1,000 worth of Whirlpool appliances to be used in the school.
Ian Moverley, Public Affairs Director, Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited, commented: “Congratulations to all of the teams involved in both our Peterborough tournament and our first-ever IET FIRST® LEGO® League tournament in Bristol. Following the success of our inaugural IET FIRST® LEGO® League in Peterborough last year, we wanted to offer a similar experience for our Bristol community. It is fantastic that the tournament has been able to go ahead this year; a tremendous achievement for all teams involved considering the challenges and COVID-19 related issues faced by all schools this past year. I would like to say a big thanks to all of the team coaches and the teams themselves for their hard work; as well as to our brilliant team of volunteers who helped make this event happen!”
A global competition involving over 310,000 young people (in 38,800 teams), from across 100 countries, FIRST® LEGO® League aims to develop children’s abilities and interest in STEM, alongside a wide range of personal and future career skills. Whirlpool UK fully funded both the Peterborough and Bristol tournaments, and this included sponsoring local primary school teams to participate and equipping them with a brand-new LEGO SPIKE Prime Robot too.
The theme of this year’s FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge, RePLAY, focused on the importance of play and being more active. Teams were challenged to compete across the four key components: Robot Game, Robot Design, Core Values and the Innovation Project.
In the Robot Game, teams were challenged to build and programme their LEGO robot to complete a set of up to 15 ‘missions’ across a LEGO playing field. Teams had two and a half minutes to complete as many missions as possible.
In the Robot Design assessment, teams showcased their robots to the judges and explained the design and coding process behind them.
For the Innovation Project, teams had to identify a problem connected to the annual theme, come up with a solution, and then, finally, present this to the judging panel.
In all areas of the competition, the teams had to demonstrate a signature set of core values, tying into each of their tasks; Inclusion, Discovery, Teamwork, Innovation, Fun and Impact.
Registration for the FIRST® LEGO® League 2021-22 season is now open with the new theme ‘Cargo Connect’. Teams can be made up of school groups, scout groups, or simply be a team of friends, but will need at least two adult coaches. For more information please visit: https://education.theiet.org/first-lego-league-programmes/register/
ENDS
Image captions:
- Team Lightning LEGO Girls was crowned winners of the FIRST® LEGO® League Peterborough tournament
- Team Jeremy from Frenchay Primary School was crowned winners of the FIRST® LEGO® League Bristol tournament
About FIRST® LEGO® League:
FIRST® LEGO® League is a global science and technology challenge for teams of students, designed to encourage an interest in real world issues and develop key skills that are crucial for their future careers. The students work together to explore a given topic and to design, build and programme an autonomous LEGO® robot to solve a series of missions.
FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge is for young people aged 9 to 16 years, working in teams of up to ten students with at least two supporting adult coaches. Each year FIRST® LEGO® League releases a new challenge for the teams. The challenge involves a robot game and a research project, and students will need to demonstrate the FIRST® LEGO® League core values throughout all their work.
All COVID-19 guidance and support can be accessed here: https://education.theiet.org/first-lego-league-programmes/covid/.
About Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited:
Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited is managed by Whirlpool EMEA, part of Whirlpool Corporation, the world’s leading kitchen and laundry appliance company.
Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited fully supports the AMDEA safety initiative, Register My Appliance, and is committed to encouraging householders to register their appliances: www.registermyappliance.org.uk
About Whirlpool Corporation:
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is the world’s leading kitchen and laundry appliance company, with approximately $20 billion in annual sales, 77,000 employees and 59 manufacturing and technology research centers in 2019. The company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, JennAir, Indesit and other major brand names in nearly every country throughout the world. Additional information about the company can be found at whirlpoolcorp.com or find us on Twitter at @WhirlpoolCorp.
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29th June 2021
