These Bedford students have a lot of drive as they partner to work with robotics

In a partnership between The Harpur Trust and The Worshipful Company of Founders, students from Bedford Academy and Bedford School are making the connection (geddit?) to boost their engineering skills through robotics.

Bedford Academy has set up a new robotics club for years 8 and 9, and Bedford School has been able to expand its existing club too – making sure they have a little break for a byte-sized snack no doubt.

And it’s hoped it will help kick start their careers in the high-tech electronics industry – you know, when the students will be able to earn some serious cache.

David Kennedy, chair of the education committee at the Worshipful Company of Founders, said: “I am delighted to see robotics take off in schools in Bedford. I recently visited Bedford Academy’s Robotics Club and it was wonderful to see it in action. The young people’s enthusiasm was evident, and it was great to see them overcoming challenges in building the technology. We will be working closely with The Harpur Trust to see if robotics clubs can be developed at other local schools across the borough.”

Last week the clubs from both schools even met and competed their robots against each other – I hope no-one caught a virus.

Chitra Shahani, lead teacher of Computer Science and IT at Bedford Academy, said: “Building on the success of our recent competition, we are planning to take our school to national competitions next year. I am also planning to involve year 10 in our robotics club. The pupils learn so many important skills in robotics such as problem solving, creativity, leadership, critical thinking and teamwork.”

Kashta Dale, head of prep computing at Bedford School, added: “The club is a real hit with our creative and curious boys who love the challenge it offers. As they build their robots, they are learning a whole range of future skills in engineering and coding, as well as other fundamental skills.”