Fife youngsters build on their Lego success

The youngsters won one of three judges’ awards in Bristol at the weekend, earning them a place in the European championships in Legoland.

Calling themselves the Super Scotty Bears, they were the only team from Scotland to get through to the UK final.

They were up against 48 other teams of budding engineers from all over the UK.

The competition, organised by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, is a science and technology challenge for nine to 16 year -olds.

Teams were tasked with building a robot to tackle a series of missions, each representing a different aspect of animal-human interaction.

The Newburgh team also redesigned coats for guide dogs.

Hosted by CBBC presenter Fran Scott, it was the largest ever First Lego League UK and Ireland final, with nearly 500 young people attending – all keen to demonstrate their skills in robotics, computer programming, teamwork, research, problem solving and communication.

Each team was tasked with identifying a problem with the way we interact with animals, designing an innovative solution to the problem they selected and sharing their problem and solution with others.

IET President Jeremy Watson CBE said: “First Lego League is not just a robotics competition, it is a unique educational opportunity for young people to pursue their ideas.”