GEORGE NEWS - Suff Academy hosted its first coding and robotics celebration event at the George Civic Centre on Saturday 15 February, bringing together 35 young learners from across the Garden Route to showcase their creativity, problem-solving skills, and teamwork in robotics.
The event was aimed at motivating learners by giving them a platform to demonstrate their progress in the coding and robotics programme.
Unlike a competition, the celebration allowed participants to gain confidence, receive constructive feedback, and prepare for their first regional competition later this year.
A total of five teams participated, including two senior teams and three primary school teams.
"The learners impressed attendees with their robotic challenge mat performances and innovation projects, where they tackled real-world problems with creative solutions," said Ray Carstens, marketing and events manager of Suff Academy.
"The event was about more than just building robots. It was about fostering problem-solving, teamwork, and STEM [Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] skills that will benefit these learners for years to come.
"The progress these students have made in such a short time is truly inspiring, and we are excited to see them grow and compete on a bigger stage".
He expressed special thanks to the partners, coaches, schools, the Department of Basic Education, learners and supporters who made the event possible.
"We are excited to expand the programme and bring the benefits of Stem and robotics to even more learners across the region," said Carstens.
Two Robo-Griffies from Van Reede Primary School in Oudtshoorn having their two-and-a-half minutes to show how many missions their robot can execute.
The learners who participated in the event with the coaches from Suff Academy, teachers from the different schools and representatives from Unisa and the Department of Basic Education.
Some of the builds the Grade 1 to 3 students showcased at the event.
Le-Anne Donson of the Department of Basic Education talked about the importance of coding and robotics and shared some of the plans the department has in this field.
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