Gold for Gilmore Gigabytes

A team of Gilmore College students passionate about robotics and STEM has been invited to compete in Russia after taking out first place in a robot competition.

The Gilmore Gigabytes won the robot design category in the FIRST Lego League WA National District Championships at Curtin University.

The team showcased its outstanding robotics and STEM skills to win a place at the 2022 Russian Open Championships.

Over the year, the students tackled two STEM problem-solving challenges. The robot challenge involved building and programming a LEGO robot that completes missions on a field. The research project involved identifying and solving a real-world problem. 

Some of the skills learnt during the competition included coding, Python, cooperation, teamwork, and friendship.

The Gilmore Gigabytes were shocked when they first heard their names announced as winners.

“We were all a little speechless as we approached the stage as we’d been a little doubtful of our success. Once the shock passed, we were all excited and quite proud of ourselves,” one of the students said.

“We all developed our coding skills, especially in Python. We learnt to work as a team and use our individual skills to support and teach each other.”

Gilmore College principal Dean Gurr said he was immensely proud of the efforts of the students and the teacher who led them.

“I always believed in their ability to do well, but to see them achieve so much was very gratifying,” Mr Gurr said.

“Challenges like these allow them to explore their creativity and problem-solving skills in a real-life setting.

“These young adults have learnt how to cooperate as a team and how to be gracious in competition. They have learnt to appreciate each other and how to use their individual talents to contribute to the whole.

“The entire school is behind them and we also hope to really rally the community around them and their success.”