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We are #morethanrobots
At BSG Robotics our Core Mission is Building Engineers of the Future. We are an all girls robotics, engineering and STEM Outreach club that aims to inspire the next generation of students in the engineering and tech sectors.
Founded in 2022, our club consists of three teams of students ranging from aged 12 to 17 supported by staff volunteers and Sixth Form student mentors. We meet twice weekly in our design technology department.
Our club takes part in FIRST ® TECH CHALLENGE, the world’s largest STEM competition for students. Currently we take part in the UK Competition, compete in regional competitions and aim to win prizes and the FIRST ® TECH CHALLENGE UK National Competition held each year.
In our first year we won the UK National Championship THINK Award for engineering and came UK National Runners Up in the DESIGN and CONNECT Award categories (for robot design and community outreach).
But our club is #morethanrobots and we aim to develop a wide range of skills in our students that will enhance their skill set and educational journey with us. We want to inspire as many as possible to consider STEM careers with a particular focus on mechanical, electrical or software engineering. A real collaboration between our D&T and Computing Departments, BSG Robotics also engages with industry mentors to further enhance the skills students develop and giving them further inspiration for working in related fields.
About FIRST® TECH CHALLENGE
It’s way more than building robots. FIRST® TECH CHALLENGE teams (up to 15 team members, Year 7-13) are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format.
Guided by adult coaches and mentors, students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles, while realizing the value of hard work, innovation, and working as a team.
The robot kit is reusable from year to year and can be coded using a variety of levels of Java-based programming. Teams design and build robots, raise funds, design and market their team brand, and do community outreach to earn specific awards. Participants are eligible to apply for $80M+ in college scholarships in the USA.
Each season concludes with regional championship events and an exciting FIRST® Championship.
The really cool thing about FIRST® Tech Challenge is…all skill levels are welcomed and needed, technical or non-technical. Student and adult team members are encouraged to bring any skills they already have, like coding, electronics, metalworking, graphic design, web creation, public speaking, videography, and more. Adult coaches guide students as they gain skills and confidence in a supportive, inclusive environment.
Introducing the
2023/2024 Season
This year our teams must design a robot that can:
See this year’s game animation below
Our Latest News
Our Teams (2023-24)
It’s now our second season and this year our club has expanded to three all-girl teams. Our National Champion Team – ULTRAVIOLET (Y10-12) will be continuing into the new season, with us creating two brand new Year Group specific teams – ORANGE BYTES (Y8) and CYBER BLUES (Y9). We’ll show all their progress on this webpage, our Twitter account and our LinkedIn Page. We hope you’ll follow us this season. We will be recruiting students to our teams in early September.
This year we will have a separate weekly lunchtime session for each team in W8 with a FIRST UK Coach, though other teams can come and complete supervised work on their teams & robots on other lunchtimes too.
Our club will link up online with other regional clubs to support each other and network with other young people.
Meet Tuesdays
Meet Wednesdays
Meet Thursdays
The 2022/23 Season was our Rookie Year and we were overwhelmed when we had to secure grants for two FIRST® UK Teams. We started with over 30 students, including Sixth Form students choosing to mentor and lead our younger Year 7-11 students .
We had a younger team with students from Year 7-8, and a second team with students from Years 9-11.
Team ENGENIOUS (22/23)
FTC Team: #22456
UK Team Number: #447
Team ULTRAVIOLET (22/23)
FTC Team: #22457
UK Team Number: #456
Our Sponsors
We couldn’t run our robotics club without support from our sponsors. Below we list sponsors who have supported our club so far.
Thanks to the Senior Leadership team and Governors for supporting us starting up the club. The governing body has also provided funding for our outreach programme in primary schools for the summer term.
Raytheon Technologies sponsors the POWERPLAY season and we appreciate the effort that has gone in to ensuring this FTC season has a fantastic game that allows us to develop our skills throughout the competition.
Visit their website: https://www.rtx.com/
FIRST UK have not only set up the competition but helped arrange events which we are a part of. They have helped provide bursaries for us hosting the scrimmage in January and contributed to our expensive coach fee to come to the regionals – we appreciated this a lot, thank you.
Visit their website: www.firstuk.org
RHH Franks are a family run business established in 1961 and based in New Milton.
They’ve provided financial support helping us buy equipment and travel to the Championships this year.
We offer subcontract manufacturing services for the Aerospace and allied sectors, specialising in Sheet Metal Fabrication and Machining.
To support our manufacturing expertise we also have a number of NADCAP accredited Special Process, these include, Dip Brazing, Heat Treatment, Painting and Non-Destructive Testing.
Visit their website: https://www.rhhfranks.co.uk/
JP Morgan’s Bournemouth Corporate Centre is home to more than 4,000 employees, including many who work directly with clients from the Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB) and Commercial Bank as well as a large number in operations, technology, audit and compliance. Growing from 650 employees in 1986, J.P. Morgan has leveraged the skills of the local workforce in the Dorset region and throughout the U.K.
CAN YOU SPONSOR GIRLS IN ENGINEERING?
Just after ONE YEAR so far has been an INCREDIBLE SUCCESS and we want other local business partners to be part of that. We are seeking sponsorship from local businesses in Dorset and BCP to support us in our competitions and also expansion of the club over the next few years.
There are a number of ways assistance can be provided but currently we are seeking resources to support the following:
Sponsoring our team would bring many benefits to your business and the wider community. By supporting our club, you will be investing in the future of young people and helping to develop the next generation of engineers, scientists and innovators.
In addition, your business will benefit from increased brand visibility and exposure, both within the local community and further afield. We are committed to promoting our sponsors through our social media channels, website, and other marketing materials, and we are open to discussing additional ways that we can help promote your business.
Depending on the level of sponsorship our sponsors get logos on our kits, our robots, pit banners, outgoing media and communications and mentions during any outreach to our community.
We know your business can be #morethanrobots as well, and we’re happy to receive enquiries from any businesses who can think of other ways to support our robotics club, their outreach programme and participation in this prestigious competition.
To support BSG Robotics or enquire about supporting us please email BSG Robotics at the following school email address: office@bsg.bournemouth.sch.uk.
Thank you for considering supporting BSG Robotics. We believe that your partnership would not only benefit our club, but also the wider community, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
Official Southwest UK Champion Organisation
Here to support teams in our region
We’re excited to introduce you to the FIRST UK robotics programme that’s launching a new season in September! With our support, you’re one registration away from joining a momentous year of robotics, supported by the collaborative FIRST® community as you invest in your young innovators.
We’re proud to be the UK’s fastest growing FIRST UK Hub and our hub network this year has trebled in size, with at least 20 schools and 25 teams competing this CENTERSTAGE Season. We will provide regular opportunities for meet ups, scrimmages and provide training and support to mentors and team leads to give nearly 400 students the best experience.
The current list of registered teams this 23/24 season in the Southwest:
| Organisation Name | Team number | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth School for Girls | 447 | Bournemouth |
| Bournemouth School for Girls | 456 | Bournemouth |
| Bournemouth School for Girls | 526 | Bournemouth |
| Ferndown Upper School | 85 | Ferndown |
| Ferndown Upper School | 166 | Ferndown |
| Ferndown Upper School | 239 | Ferndown |
| Ferndown Upper School | 240 | Ferndown |
| Frome Community College | 472 | Frome |
| Gillingham School | 544 | Gillingham |
| Helston Community College | 74 | Helston |
| Noadswood School | 492 | Dibden Purlieu |
| Robert Blake Science College | 545 | Bridgwater |
| Royal Wootton Bassett Academy | 493 | Royal Wootton basset |
| Shaftesbury School | 539 | Shaftesbury |
| St Edward’s Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole | 523 | Poole |
| St Michaels Middle School | 512 | Wimborne |
| St. Peter’s Church of England Aided School | 495 | Exeter |
| Sturminster Newton High School | 540 | Sturminster Newton |
| Tavistock College | 484 | Tavistock |
| The King’s School | 488 | Ottery St Mary |
| The Mountbatten School | 500 | Romsey |
| The Swanage School | 323 | Swanage |
| Twynham School | 530 | Christchurch |
| Wildern School | 550 | Southampton |
| Devonport High School for Boys | 557 | Plymouth |
Registration is still open nationally but registrations in the Southwest Region are now limited (but still available!). Please feel free to contact us about coming to visit one of our regional events and signing up next year where we hope to DOUBLE the number of team again.
See below our map for current Southwest Hub schools competing this season (created using Google Maps).
Latest Events
Southwest Scrimmage 2023 – An Amazing Success!
Each season as the Southwest Hub we host casual meet ups of local teams to practice using their robots on the Game Field and prepare for the regional (and hopefully) national finals.
It’s a chance to share expertise and ideas between schools and help each other be #morethanrobots. Each year we also invite a special guest to share with students their work in a STEM related field, this year we were excited to have guests from the UK Military. Special Guest- Colonel Anders-Brown and his team, giving a talk from the UK military’s Future Capability Group, demonstrating a Boston Dynamics SPOT Quadruped.
Talks was given to our Team Members, visiting FTCUK Teams and also our Year 7 students, meaning we had over 200 young people engaged with STEM and robotics on the day.
We hope that next year’s scrimmage will be even bigger, so please make sure to share your experience on social media and amongst other colleagues so we can inspire more young people and team leads to join FIRST® TECH CHALLENGE UK.
Our Rookie Team #456 – ULTRAviolet have planned a programme range of outreach activities for the community including the Robot guest at the scrimmage.
Our Rookie Team #456 – ULTRAviolet has designed a ‘PointPrism’ to help team’s with their game strategy at our scrimmage.
Any FTC Teams can download the PointPrism and print it for themselves.
SE Regional Finals 2023
National Championships 2023
Both our teams went to the FIRST TECH CHALLENGE UK National Championship at Cambridge University
The day was a BLAST! And our Team ULTRAVIOLET not only won 1, not 2 but 3 National Awards including becoming National Champions for the THINK Award 2023. What an amazing achievement for their Rookie Year!
