Wilsobotics and Wilsonic Boom hit Eindhoven
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From 16–20 June, members of both the Wilsobotics and Wilsonic Boom FIRST® Tech Challenge teams competed at the European Premier Event—an invitational competition featuring around 105 of the top-performing teams from across the globe, with a particular focus on European teams.
The competition took place in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, home to the renowned Brainport region, which hosts a number of world-leading high-tech companies pushing the boundaries of technological advancement. Over four days of demanding matches, Wilson's School delivered an outstanding performance.
The teams finished the competition as members of the fifth-strongest alliance at the event. However, when reflecting on the experience, many team members spoke less about the competition itself and more about the friendships they formed with teams from around the world. The languages they have learnt at school enabled them to converse with competitors from a wide range of countries, while they also enjoyed catching up with teams closer to home, including St Paul's Boys' School, Westminster School and Langley Park School, alongside many other UK teams that enjoyed varying degrees of success.
As expected of Wilsonians, the members of the robotics teams remain remarkably modest about their achievements, instead focusing on the many opportunities for further refinement in their engineering and design. One particularly memorable lesson came during a high-stakes match, when the robot's turret was subjected to excessive rotational forces and, rather spectacularly, detached itself while the robot was still moving. Although unfortunate at the time, the incident has already provided valuable insight for future design improvements.
While there are many reasons to be immensely proud of qualifying for and competing at an international event, the new leaders of both robotics teams are already looking ahead. They are determined to represent Wilson's School with distinction in next year's FIRST® Tech Challenge season and to continue Wilson's School's proud tradition as one of the country's leading schools for STEM.
This change in leadership follows the departure of several founding members of the club after the completion of their A-levels. They will be greatly missed by both the robotics teams and the wider school community for their dedication, leadership and invaluable contributions to Wilson's School over many years. Mr Worth will also take over as the supervising teacher from Mr Elwood, and these changes in leadership reflect a shared determination to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation within the FIRST® Tech Challenge. The team extends its sincere thanks to all those who have helped build the programme into what it is today.
Alongside these ambitions, the teams remain committed to maintaining and strengthening the meaningful relationships they have built with their corporate sponsors, including Komacut, TwoTrees, Day Lewis Pharmacies, Printpool, ACCU and many other valued partners. Their generosity and continued support have played an important role in enabling the teams to achieve such impressive results.
A special mention must also go to Siddharth, who, despite not attending Wilson's School, has become a valued friend of the robotics programme. Wilsobotics has been privileged to benefit from his enthusiasm, expertise and support, and is proud to count him among its closest friends.
As departing Team Lead Giovanni's house motto reminds us, "Modo modo inceptum"—"We've only just begun"—the next chapter of Wilson's robotics journey is only just beginning.