Six Year 9 students recently travelled to Bristol’s National Composites Centre (NCC) to compete in the Regional Finals of the Underwater Hub STEM Challenge.

The challenge required teams to design, build and programme a prototype underwater robot capable of collecting plastic waste and microplastics from the seabed, helping to tackle pollution in our oceans. In addition to developing their robot, students were tasked with creating a company name, logo and slogan, producing a storyboard for a television advertisement, and pitching their product to industry experts in an effort to secure investment.

Our students rose to the challenge, establishing their company CRAB (Coding Robot Aqua Bots) and developing Hermit, an innovative autonomous rover designed to collect plastic waste, identify injured marine animals, alert rescue teams, and navigate the seabed independently.

The team worked incredibly hard throughout the competition and represented both themselves and the school with enthusiasm, creativity and professionalism. It was a fantastic day, and we are immensely proud of their achievements.