CARNARVON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS REPRESENT SOUTH AFRICA AT INTERNATIONAL ROBOTICS COMPETITION

travelling out of the country. "It was quite a fascinating experience. My team and I had the opportunity to travel to different countries, interact with different religions and meet new people," said Cadi.

The team stopped over in Dubai on their way back from Morroco to go to LegoLand and experience the advanced technology developments in the country.

"The competition was a lot of fun and stressful because it was our first time competing on an international stage, with a lot of teams from different countries. But I had a pleasant time with my team," added Cadi.

Seven students from Carnarvon High School, all in grades 9 and 10, went to an international robotics competition in Marrakech, Morocco and placed 33rd out of 66 teams. There were teams from 50 different countries that participated in the competition.

The FIRST LEGO League open competition occurred from 18 to 21 May 2023. The team consisted of Cadi Jann, Almay van Wyk, Revan de Wee, Winetro Lottering, Azalia Olivier, Shamira Slaverse and Tylor Mouers.

Educator at the school, Mr Wayne van Staden, who accompanied the students to the competition, explained: "Under the guidance of Mr Magabuko (robotics coordinator), we try to provide learners with the basic programming and building skills. After that, the learners need to figure out how to solve the Missions (problems)."

Carnarvon is situated in the Northern Cape, close to MeerKAT. MeerKAT is a radio telescope that is the precursor to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), set to be the most sensitive radio telescope of its kind in the world.

According to the media release, the Robotics Schools Programme (which started in 2016), also known as the LEGO Schools Programme, is managed by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) Human Capacity Development department. Its aim is to develop and upskill students with STEM-related skills around the telescope's development.

For one of the participants, Cadi Jann, it was the first time

Upon their return, Northern Cape Premier, Zamani Saul, gifted each student a R10 000 cash prize. He said that Carnarvon was one of 100 schools in the province that offered coding and robotics, 15 of which are primary schools.

When asked about placing 33rd, Cadi said: "I am proud of what we achieved. I know my team and I did our best, but I know we can do better. We learned a lot as a team and will concentrate on correcting our mistakes for future competitions."

Cadi also said that once she matriculates, she hopes to study medicine and expressed that her participation in the robotics school programme is helping a lot with her Maths and Science subjects.

When asked about future plans for the school robotics team, Mr van Staden said: "The world is our oyster; we can do anything we wish for. We firmly believe we will do much better if the opportunity arises again."