Problem solving primary pupils represent South Tyneside in national STEAM competition

Pupils from two South Tyneside primary schools joined 73 other teams from all around Great Britain in The First Lego League’s national competition for the Masterpiece Challenge.

The Harton Primary Puzzlers (Harton Primary School) and Westoe Innovators (Westoe Crown Primary School) along with other teams taking part this year were tasked with finding innovative and creative ways to communicate art across the globe.

Competitors in the Challenge category of Lego League are between nine and 16 years old, with the pupils from South Tyneside being some of the youngest participants at the tournament.

The teams also have to design a robot made entirely out of Lego, which they code to complete missions and earn their team points during robot games.

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The Harton Puzzlers team, made up of two returning year six pupils (Maizie and Ellis) and three year five pupils (Archie, Naira and Heath), were interested in exploring and developing interactive posters to engage a wider audience with arts and culture in the local area.

The team created augmented reality posters that incorporated videos which the children recorded, edited and wrote a commentary for. The commentary explained and advertised different exhibitions and museums in and around South Tyneside including Arbeia Roman Fort, Scran Exhibition at South Shields Museum and Stage Space at The Customs House.

These posters can be accessed during the Halo AR app, and the team even created QR codes which could be placed next to the posters for them to be scanned.

The children shared their idea in front of a panel of judges, and were also joined by a member of the IET who was incredibly impressed by how knowledgeable and enthusiastic the children were.

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This was Westoe Crown’s first year participating in the competition and they were delighted to reach nationals. The team consisted of six pupils from Year five – Harry, Olivia, Saffron, Maddison, Zac and Annabelle (the latter of whom sadly couldn’t make it to the national competition but played a pivotal role in securing their place there). Their innovation project was a subject very close to the team’s hearts as they tailored it to link with Children’s Mental Health week.

Their project aimed at improving the well-being and mental health of everyone through art therapy and mindfulness colouring - a very personal project for the children who each took on a responsibility to share their own experiences.

Leaving the judging, the team were thrilled with how the pitch had gone and were complimented for such a thought- provoking and innovative idea, which they delivered confidently.

The other main part of the challenge is the robot game, which is a test of coding skills as well as strategy. Teams must decide which missions to complete and which to avoid, which they also discuss with the judging panel.

Both teams had some of their robot games live-streamed on the IET’s Youtube channel. Harry, from Westoe, and Ellis, from Harton, were selected to commentate on their team’s performance.

The two teams spoke to presenters Maddie Moate and Nicola Hume over the course of the day about their innovation projects and robot game strategy.

Steph Haigh, teacher and Lego League coach at Westoe Primary, said: “Attending for the first time was a rollercoaster of emotions from nerves to jubilation and as a school, we couldn’t be more proud of what they have achieved! What a day.”

Lee Forster, teacher and Lego League coach at Harton Primary, added: “I’ve been blown away yet again by the amazing core values shown by our team. The atmosphere at nationals is electric and everyone is always incredibly supportive.”

Both schools are part of the SAGE project, which provided schools with class sets of the Lego League packs. The schools are both planning STEM weeks where the rest of the pupils in school will be able to develop their building, coding and collaboration skills.

The Harton Primary Puzzlers and Westoe Innovators are also both excited for the recent announcement of the 2024-25 Lego League Challenge which is titled ‘Submerged’, which will require them to investigate challenges facing the ocean and get a head start in developing an innovative solution to address the identified issue.