For many young people, the moment they realise STEM is for them doesn’t happen in a classroom setting. It happens when they get the chance to build something, solve a problem or lead a team.  At FIRST UK, we see that moment every year through our FIRST Tech Challenge programme — when young people step […]

Running a robotics team is about more than building a robot. At FIRST UK, our ethos is the same. It’s about giving young people the space to problem-solve, collaborate and discover what they’re capable of. STEM is the tool, curiosity is the fuel, and confidence and creativity are just some of the outcomes.  Community is […]

Get ready to cheer – Team Great Britain is going global!  Back in June, we crowned Powercut Robotics the UK Inspire Award winners for 2024-25, giving them the opportunity to represent Great Britain on the global stage. Since then, they’ve been hard at work fine-tuning their robot, polishing their portfolio, and developing their outreach projects […]

A new school year, a new FIRST Tech Challenge UK season – and a brand-new game: DECODE, presented by RTX. That means fresh robots, ideas and let’s be honest, new problems to solve. But as Friends’ School Lisburn’s robotics lead, Errol Martin, will tell you, those are the best kind of problems to have.  Errol, […]

Picture this: conga lines weaving through the arena, roars of regional pride echoing from every corner of the UK, and high-fives flying across the team pits. The FIRST Tech Challenge UK Championship 2024-25 was more than a competition – it was a two-day festival of innovation, teamwork and energy.  Whether you were on the field, […]

The INTO THE DEEP season was our biggest yet – and it all came to an unforgettable finale at our UK Championship on 26-27 June, hosted at the Copper Box Arena in London’s Olympic Park.  Over two electric days, 64 of the UK’s top robotics teams from all four nations battled it out to be […]

The countdown to champs is on! There’s officially only a month to go until 64 of our top teams come together to compete, showcase their achievements and make themselves proud. Meanwhile, our volunteers are training up to rock their roles and make our event one to remember. And over at HQ, we’ve got a couple […]

The INTO THE DEEP qualifying tournaments have been a whirlwind of innovation, teamwork and engineering excellence. Our teams and volunteers have packed a punch with some standout moments to create an unforgettable season and set the stage for an epic UK Championship.  From the UK’s first level three ascent by team Software Therapy in Northern […]

Across our qualifiers, our Youth Ambassadors have been taking to the mics, hyping the crowd and announcing winning alliances. It’s a new role this year, but our Youth Ambassadors have relished in the opportunity to be Game Announcers. They’ve been our answer to David Croft, Alex Scott and Gabby Logan, injecting sporting action into our […]

At FIRST Tech Challenge UK, innovation isn’t just about robots. It’s about creativity, problem-solving and teamwork. This year, we provided our teams with a brand-new challenge: design the trophies for our regional qualifying tournaments.  Our trophy design competition invited teams to showcase their creative thinking and product design talents. Provided with a brief on size, […]

We’re in the midst of our qualifying tournaments and there’s plenty more for teams to get involved in. Whether you’re preparing for champs or working to improve for next year, our 2023-24 Regional Motivate Award Winners are here to offer their advice to keep the momentum going!   HBK Robodeers – Hinchingbrooke School – UK-328 […]

It’s qualifier season! The big day has finally arrived when we kick off the INTO THE DEEP tournaments and we couldn’t be more excited. They’re shaping up to be our biggest, best and most community-driven events yet. Our electric events calendar From Belfast to Bournemouth, we’re touching down in schools and science centres across the […]

We say the challenge is More Than Robots for a good reason! Outreach is a big part of FIRST Tech Challenge UK and it’s something a lot of teams really thrive at. Every way that teams bring their community into the challenge is unique and we love shouting about it!  Team Subnautics may be a […]

Scrimmages are one of the first opportunities for the community to come together in person and share ideas. During our scrimmages across December and January, teams have been innovating their robots and gaining confidence in their own abilities to compete.  They have well and truly impressed us not only with their engineering approaches but also […]

Our Youth Ambassadors Ben and Jack from DeGreeS of Freedom are whizzes when it comes to social media, branding and online outreach. So far this season, they’ve organised a media workshop to share their top tips and tricks and have collaborated with international teams to create a short film about the challenge. Check out their […]

We’re already a term into the season. Teams are finding their feet, attending their scrimmages and being inspired by each other’s progress. Team Leads can trust their team will have a robot to compete with come Qualifiers. But what about our Champion Org Ambassadors who work away to support teams, not just their own, throughout […]

Our volunteers, who we like to call Game Changers, drive our programme. Without them, our events wouldn’t be possible and our impact wouldn’t be as powerful. They play a huge role in helping us go even further in achieving our mission: to make STEM less intimidating, more diverse and inclusive. We spoke to Joss Benyon, […]

We recently wrapped up our Game Changer Conference at the National Robotarium in Edinburgh! The Game Changer Conference is our annual opportunity to train our A-Team Game Changers in their volunteer roles and prep our Champion Organisation Ambassadors ahead of our busy event season. It was just as much about upskilling them for our biggest […]

During the 2023-24 CENTERSTAGE season, the incredible Blackout Robotics topped the division rankings and captained the Winning Alliance at the UK Championships. Every member of their team had two years of experience competing in FIRST Tech Challenge UK, and now they’re sharing the wisdom that got them to the top. Team unleashed  Team name: Blackout […]

This is one for the books! Team Great Britain has made history and won gold at the 2024 FIRST Global Challenge, marking the first time a UK team has won an individual team award. After winning the National Inspire Award at the UK Championships in June, we surprised team Ultraviolet from Bournemouth School for Girls […]

Our teams are great at thinking outside of the box. They dream big and have the drive to make things happen. They want to show the world what the UK STEM scene has to offer and the time has come for our incredible teams to take to the global stage. We surprised our Inspire Award […]

Our CENTERSTAGE season came to an epic end with teams battling to be crowned national champions at the University of Cambridge. Bringing together the very best youth robotics teams from all four nations, the UK Championship did not disappoint. 42 teams took to the game field to put their carefully designed robots and well-thought-out strategies […]

During March schools and community groups across the UK participated in 10 robotics tournaments showcasing their design, engineering, coding and outreach talent – vying to earn industy judged awards and a coveted spot at the UK Champs. Let’s take a moment to reminisce over the biggest seat-wriggling and hug-it-out scenes from our 2024 regionals: A […]

At our recent teams webinar focused on all things Qualifying Tournaments, CalderDrones, 2022-23 National Innovate and Regional Control Award winners, from Liverpool, shared what makes a winning game-day strategy with some top tips to get UK teams fired up for game day. Let’s recap on the genius gems shared with teams: Team Name: CalderDrones Team […]

We wrapped up 2023 with a burst of innovation in December at the FIRST Tech Challenge UK scrimmages for what is becoming the most promising robotics season yet! Scrimmages are informal meetups where teams get together during the programme’s mid-season to build, test out the game field and meet other teams, before competing at a […]

At our teams webinar ahead of scrimmages, we were joined by the South West powerhouse team, Ultraviolet, from Bournemouth School for Girls. Regional and national award-winners in their rookie season last year, team Ultraviolet shared their thoughts on how to become a FIRST Tech Challenge UK award-winning team. Let’s hear what they had to say: […]

At our kick-off webinar, Wednesday 20 September 2023, we invited Scott Buchanan from team Digital Pancakes, UK-344, Friend’s Grammar School, Lisburn to make a real difference in the FIRST UK community by offering his invaluable skills and pearls of wisdom with fellow CENTERSTAGE teams. Having taken part in FIRST Tech Challenge UK for the past […]

Hit the ground running with team Ground X’s tips and tricks for a successful fundraising and outreach season. On 11 October 2023, we invited the West Midlands Design Award-winning team, Ground X, from Outwood Academy Newbold, to join our in-season webinar. UK-090 team members Samson and Cameron shared their successful approach to fundraising and outreach […]

At FIRST UK, our engine is industry. More specifically, the exceptional people who occupy industry roles today. We’re fortunate to partner with some of the most pioneering and forward-thinking industry heads of the world, willing to donate their time, energy and talent simply because they too, see and believe in the value of investing in […]

24 teams of West Mids warriors rallied together at the RAF Cosford Museum for our final regional this season, aiming to live up to the saying ‘best till last’ and battle this season’s energy-driven FIRST Tech Challenge game, POWERPLAY

24 teams of West Mids warriors rallied together at the RAF Cosford Museum for our final regional this season, aiming to live up to the saying ‘best till last’ and battle this season’s energy-driven FIRST Tech Challenge game, POWERPLAY

7 teams of fearless young innovators logged on and united for the smallest but mightiest remote regional tournament, fired and determined to virtually vanquish this season’s energy-driven FIRST Tech Challenge game, POWERPLAY.

24 teams of South East soldiers joined forces at the American School in London and stepped up to the game field, ready to apply their hard earned skills to conquer this season’s energy-driven FIRST Tech Challenge game, POWERPLAY.

5 teams of Northern Ireland ninjas weathered the Belfast blizzard and rocked up head-strong at the iconic W5 Science and Discovery Centre to take on this season’s energy-driven FIRST Tech Challenge game, POWERPLAY.

Our final teams of the season were summoned at the RAF London Museum to battle the season’s FIRST Tech Challenge game, FREIGHT FRENZY.

Teams united for the first time in two years to tackle the latest FIRST Tech Challenge game, FREIGHT FRENZY. Joining forces at the Southeast Regional 1 tournament, 24 teams lit up the game field with their tenacious skills, strategy and gracious professionalism. We haven’t seen such a strong bunch of teams take action on the […]

The friendliest teams in the region joined forces at the iconic W5 science discovery centre to challenge the FIRST Tech Challenge game, FREIGHT FRENZY at the Northern Ireland Regional Tournament. 8 local teams rallied together and stormed the game field with impressive game strategies and collaborative alliances. We want to say a huge congratulations to […]

Teams gathered for what may be the smallest mighty regional event in UK history at the Wade Deacon High School with a quintessentially British flair during the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. Ready to conquer this year’s FIRST Tech Challenge game, FREIGHT FRENZY, Ambitious teams hit the field running, playing a record number of 12 matches, in […]

Teams united for the first time in two years to tackle the latest FIRST Tech Challenge game, FREIGHT FRENZY. Joining forces at the Southeast Regional 1 tournament, 24 teams lit up the game field with their tenacious skills, strategy and gracious professionalism. We haven’t seen such a strong bunch of teams take action on the […]

What a year it has been! Teams, we’re immensely proud of every single one of you for your commitment and dedication during the most tumultuous season ever experienced. Teachers and mentors, we cannot thank you enough for your adaptability and relentless support, making sure teams explore every learning opportunity. Partners, we’re humbled by your support […]

About the team We have a very close-knit, motivated and involved team, with different but complementary profiles in programming, construction, design and communication. A good atmosphere and commitment resulted in a powerful synergy that pushed us to surpass ourselves, to dream big, and which finally led us to this success. In fact, it is by […]

About the team Hi, we are GroundX. We are a group of 6th form students who are studying at Outwood Academy Newbold in Chesterfield. We started with the FIRST Tech Challenge UK last year and went on to win the regional Inspire Award! We were highly looking forward to London, but due to Covid, this […]

About our team Hi! We’re Binary Bots 003 from London. We’ve been a FIRST Tech Challenge team in the UK for three years now, and we are passionate about robotics. Our team members come from a variety of backgrounds, but we all have one thing in common: our passion for STEM. All of our team […]

About our team We’re a 10-person-strong team from Liverpool, UK, and we have a passion for robotics. We’ve put in hundreds of hours of work on our robot this year – every team member contributed in some way, shape or form to build our robot. How we worked together At the start of the season, […]

About the team Team Snapwire is a group of 8 pupils in Year 8 at Perton Middle School. Our team is successful because we thrive on teamwork and we support each other in any way possible. We have always been upbeat even in the most perplexing times such as Coronavirus. Individually, our team all contributes […]

After excellent performances from teams hitting the Ultimate game field last month, more teams across the country jumped to challenge the Ultimate Goal game in round two of our remote events. 9 teams took to the field to score points against a 2 min. 30 sec. clock. Here’s how they faired and who the judges […]

The first set of UK teams hit the Ultimate Goal game field last week, marking the first week of our UK remote competition season. Fired and ready to perform, 12 teams battled the 2 min. 30 sec. clock to wrack up as many points as possible and present to a panel of industry judges hoping […]

Hey teams and Team Leads, this season kicked off with a rocky start and we appreciate you all for hanging in there! The government announced on 22 February that schools and colleges will reopen from 08 March at the earliest while the lockdown measures ease, so we wanted to share how we’re supporting your chosen […]

FIRST Tech Challenge UK is kicking off this season from 11-29 Jan 2021 with three flexible weeks for teams to share, connect and inspire each other as they get to grips with the Ultimate Goal. During Kick-off month your team can take part in anything from picking team roles to homing in on a game […]

We asked a Dom, previous Strategy Officer from the Binary Bots team in London, what tips and tricks they would pass along to help other teams when planning their season. They had lots to say, so takes some time to make sure you’re familiar with what’s involved in an effective strategy plan! . . . […]

Teams, it’s time to launch! Suit up with the tools you need to jumpstart the season during Kick-off Month, Monday 11 – Friday 29 January 2021. While many of you are remote learning, we know it’s not the best start to the school term or season, but like true FIRST Tech Challenge UK teams, we’ll […]

Forget about robots for a second, the engineering notebook is hands down the most important material any team will produce in FIRST Tech Challenge UK. No team can be assessed for an award without one, however, teams have won awards without a working robot — it’s true! So, what’s an engineering notebook and how can […]

Hey teams and Team Leads, how’s it going? 👋 We’re seeing plenty of teams get creative with building a team and running sessions while protective measures are in place. Here’s a bunch of genius ideas that could help your team make a strong start this season. If you’re a team please ensure you continue to […]

We have news! No, there are no FIRST baby bots on the horizon, although technically… kind of? More on that later… Registration for next season is NOW OPEN! That’s right, head over to register for FIRST Tech Challenge UK season 2020-21 and secure your team’s spot. Here’s what’s in store… New season, new challenges We’d […]

Let’s face it, we’re entering the 2020-21 season in a very different world, and recognise this presents new challenges for teams to connect and collaborate. This season, we’re switching up how to support teams with an enhanced digital experience. Rather than introducing ‘tech for tech’s sake’, we’re using ‘tech as a tool to resolve problems’ […]

Baroness Tyler and 14 cross-party members of the House of Lords have supported the #furloughforgood campaign by writing directly to the Chancellor of the Exchequer seeking urgent clarification of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to allow charity employees to volunteer for their organisation. The letter was accompanied by a briefing paper for Government prepared by […]

Baroness Barran, Minister for Civil Society yesterday responded to questions from peers surrounding support for charities and allowing fuloughed charity employees to volunteer for their organisation. We’ve emailed Lady Barran a briefing paper requesting her support in asking the Government to urgently reconsider their position. Read the email below and download our briefing paper and […]

Whilst the Chancellor’s injection of £750 million for the sector is welcome, this funding will largely be accessible only to organisations involved in the covid-19 response and will take time to unlock. Meanwhile, charities across the UK continue to fight for survival as workforces are furloughed en-masse, services closed and activities curtailed – just when […]

The arrival of coronavirus (Covid-19) on UK shores could not have happened at a more challenging time for the charity and the young people we serve. The inaugural UK Championship scheduled for the end of March in London’s Olympic Park intended to bring together thousands of young people, their teachers and mentors – to compete, […]

Not sure what to do next about the champs? No problem. Find details regarding changes to the national championship, the new virtual tournament and how to recover costs on this FAQ page.   The championship   Why have you cancelled the event? We have published a statement which you can read here. Will you hold […]

Largest regional competition drives inclusion among teenagers in an area with great socio-economic divide, powered by Arm and Qualcomm Incorporated 10 February 2020: Robots built by students in the South East of England competed yesterday at FIRST® Tech Challenge UK’s regional tournament at the IWM Duxford in Cambridge. The winning teams will now progress to […]

Automotive and aerospace engineering heartland hosted competition powered by Collins Aerospace and its mega squad of industry volunteers, geared to make STEM less intimidating and more inclusive for young people. Robots built by students in the West Midlands competed over two days at FIRST® Tech Challenge UK’s regional tournament at RAF Museum Cosford in Wolverhampton. […]

Prime for innovation growth following its Aerospace engineering roots, Northern Ireland hosted competition to develop local STEM talent. Robots built by students in Northern Ireland competed on Wednesday 7 Feb 2020 at FIRST® Tech Challenge UK’s regional tournament at W5, Belfast. The winning teams will now progress to London’s Copper Box Arena in March where […]

Wade Deacon High School, Cheadle Hulme High School and The Observatory School are crowned North West’s Winning Alliance after a knife-edged final robotics match, winning by 39 points to 38. The competition run by FIRST® Tech Challenge U is geared to connect young people with STEM in thriving science and innovation hotspot struggling with shortage […]

The competition run by FIRST® Tech Challenge UK aims to ignite aspirations in young people and connect Bristol’s tech and engineering workforce with emerging talent Robots built by students in the South West of England competed yesterday at FIRST® Tech Challenge UK’s regional tournament at the University of Bristol, powered by Baker Hughes. The winning […]

It’s been a phenomenal three months of robotics action since we kicked-off with SKYSTONE, this season’s challenge. Teams have been phenomenal, with some ups, downs, and mini triumphs as they grapple with how to become the team to watch at their regional event and beyond. There’s no point in us harping on about how great […]

Having a game strategy is critical when competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge. Not only does it help teams to focus on how they’ll score points, it also guides the robot’s design and function. Dom, from team Binary Bots 003 – who also developed this season’s strategy mission in Makerspace – shares his team’s approach […]

We’re excited to share the launch of our digital educational platform ‘Makerspace’ in Alpha. After a solid six months of development and consultation with industry, educators and young people, we now have a platform to support team learning throughout the season. What’s Makerspace? Makerspace is our learning management system (LMS). It houses our educational resources […]

Last year was the pilot, this year we’re going big! Kicking off at Bloomberg’s European HQ, the world’s largest robotics competition has officially launched nationwide to make STEM less intimidating, more accessible and diverse for young people in the UK . . . We’re proud to announce the official launch of FIRSTⓇ Tech Challenge in […]

Jacob, aged 17 from Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School, Elstree, jumped at the chance to intern with us this summer, despite his detest for robots (we don’t judge here at FIRST). After being chucked into the deep end managing finances and social media planning, he’s made it out the other side wiser and pro-robots…. well, almost. […]

Jasmine, 16, from the American School in London, shares her hands-on interning experience at FIRST UK headquarters this summer. Jasmine is no FIRST noob, she spent three years in FIRST Lego League and two years as Brand Manager in the FIRST Robotics Competition. From developing content to directing her own spoof film, Jasmine reflects on […]

We’re on a road trip exhibiting at local Big Bang Fairs near you. Think your school could drive a robot blindfolded? We’re challenging young people in pairs to drive a mini-bot through our mystery maze blindfolded – the fastest teams win prizes! Meet bot-blasting teams who conquered FIRST Tech Challenge last season – an epic opportunity […]

‘Passion for progress’, ‘we, not I’, and ‘be your brilliant self’ As Community & Inclusion Specialist at Arm, Anna Malan drives engagement of the technology giant’s global workforce ensuring employees have the opportunity to apply their skills positively within their local community. As lead sponsor of the inaugural FIRST Tech Challenge UK championship Anna rallied […]

Written by Hugo Cracknell, from St Chris Snowflakes, team 002. Right now, I’m sat with the team trying to find words to sum up this whole crazy experience; however, we are still in too much shock to think of any. This has been a complete and absolute whirlwind of a journey that we are all […]