• Thomas Gainsborough crowned the overall winners
  • Robot scheme inspires youngsters to study science and engineering

Students from Thomas Gainsborough School walked away with first prize following a tough battle of skills at National Grid's robotics competition on Tuesday night.

The competition, held at Westbourne Academy in Ipswich, brought together teams from Thomas Gainsborough, St. Helena, East Bergholt High School and Westbourne Academy. The students proudly demonstrated the robots they had designed, programmed and built over the past academic year using the VEX robotics kits donated by National Grid as part of the company's commitment to promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) in schools.

The youngsters put their creations to the test in a series of fun matches that saw the robots steer through cones, dribble balls, score goals and stack cubes.

National Grid Senior Project Manager Brian Smethurst, who presided over the tournament, said: "This is all about inspiring young people to study 'STEM' subjects - science, technology, engineering and maths. It is really impressive to see what these students are achieving.

"We're going to need 200,000 engineers in this country by 2023 and that is just in the energy and utilities sector alone. If young people get these key 'STEM' qualifications, doors to fantastic careers will open for them."

Oliver Trethewey, science teacher from Thomas Gainsborough School, said: "This is the most tremendous thing I have seen in sixteen years of teaching, and it is certainly the best scheme in education in existence. It should be made compulsory."

Thomas Gainsborough were crowned the overall winners. They were awarded vouchers for robotics kit and prepaid entry for two teams in the regional VEX robotics competitions.

The Teamwork Award was presented to St. Helena; the Enthusiasm Award to Westbourne Academy and the Engineering Award to East Bergholt High School. The three runner-up schools were each awarded VEX vouchers and entry for one team for regional competitions.

ENDS


Sara Wilcox
National Grid Media Relations
07899 983792

01926 655271
sara.wilcox@nationalgrid.com
Out of hours duty press officer:
0845 366 6769

Photos:
For photos relating to this news release please visit www.nationalgridmedia.com

Notes to Editors:

National Grid is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the world and has been named Responsible Business of the Year 2014 by Business in the Community. We own and manage the grids that connect people to the energy they need, from whatever the source. In Britain and the north-eastern states of the US we run systems that deliver gas and electricity to millions of people, businesses and communities.

In Britain, we run the gas and electricity systems that our society is built on, delivering gas and electricity across the country. In the North Eastern US, we connect more than seven million gas and electric customers to vital energy sources, essential for our modern lifestyles.

National Grid in the UK:

  • We own the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales, operating it across Great Britain
  • We own and operate the high pressure gas transmission system in Britain
  • Our gas distribution business delivers gas to 10.9 million homes and businesses
  • We also own a number of related businesses including LNG importation, land remediation and metering
  • National Grid manages the National Gas Emergency Service free phone line on behalf of the industry - 0800 111 999 (all calls are recorded and may be monitored).
  • Our portfolio of other businesses is mainly concerned with infrastructure provision and related services where we can exploit our core skills and assets to create value. These businesses operate in areas such as Metering, Grain LNG Import, Interconnectors and Property. National Grid Carbon Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Grid. It undertakes Carbon Capture Storage related activities on behalf of National Grid.

National Grid in the US:

  • National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.4 million customers in New England and upstate New York
  • We own 3.8 gigawatts of contracted electricity generation, providing power to over one million LIPA customers
  • We are the largest distributor of natural gas in northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.5 million customers in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Find out more about the energy challenge and how National Grid is helping find solutions to some of the challenges we face at www.nationalgridconnecting.com

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