FIRST Tech Challenge UK - Harris Academy Sutton - Header Image
FIRST Tech Challenge UK - Harris Academy Sutton - Header Image

Let’s build More Than Robots

Hey Harris Federation, join the movement!

We’ve got a bursary with your name on it

You’re clued up and have the skills to blaze the FIRST Tech Challenge UK programme in September 2024. Now help us make STEM less intimidating, more diverse and inclusive for young people with less opportunities to build a future in STEM. As thanks for attending the session, claim your guaranteed robotics £999 provision bursary to take part in the challenge.

“I wish I had FIRST when I was at school. It’s given me fantastic opportunities – I’m a ref volunteer at events, I’m part of a Champion Org now, I’m planning on hosting local events, and networking with other teachers and students. I’ve coached four different teams and it’s just so empowering to be part of the community because you can see the students’ growth.’

“FIRST allows me to do more than teach. It allows me to build future engineers. Even if they don’t want to be an engineer, they know how it’s going to help them in their life moving forward.’

James Rhee- Director of Learning of Design Technology in Art and Enrichment and Elective Mentor of Robotics at Harris Academy

Join the challenge and claim your bursary

To find out more about our provision bursaries, have a quick read of our financial support page.

Completing this form

Only the adult responsible for the team should complete this form. It’ll take about 5 mins, including information we need to capture for your bursary award. You must include on this form the name and email address of a sponsoring member of the Senior Leadership Team or Headteacher approving your participation.

Bursary applications

Ensure you have read the conditions of our financial support and our targeting criteria before applying. While your bursary is guaranteed, we do need you to submit a few words (less than 500) in support of your bursary award. Bursaries are granted with the agreement that your organisation participates in the challenge and attends a qualifying tournament for the bursary’s term of three years.

Invoicing and payments

Your bursary is applied as a £999 credit to your invoice. We request all participating orgs to pay a £299 commitment fee per team each season and all itemised VAT – see our handy breakdown in our conditions of our financial support. You will need to provide the details (name, email and billing address) of where to receive an invoice for the £299+VAT commitment fee (£99+VAT for each additional team) and a kit fee (£999+VAT), if applicable.





Organisation Details

The programme is open to DfE registered schools, and nationally recognised youth or community groups. If you are neither of these and still wish to participate, please email teams@firstuk.org to discuss options.

Select the one that best describes your institution.

Contact Details

The adult responsible for delivering FIRST Tech Challenge UK within the organisation – typically a teacher, classroom assistant or group leader.

The best number to reach you on – preferably mobile for events.

Just your org name and address, your first name and email. This helps teams network and collaborate locally.

A secondary contact is required in case the primary contact’s circumstances change throughout the course of the FIRST Tech Challenge season. It’s good for the team to have someone else who has access to programme information, can attend events with the team if the primary contact is unable to do so, and just for added support. As part of GDPR we will contact this person to ensure they consent to our emails.

You must have the consent of a Headteacher or member of the organisation’s Senior Leadership Team in order to participate in FIRST Tech Challenge. We will only contact them in case of emergencies.

Team Details

Your team(s) may not be formed yet, but complete this section with as many details as you know.

Cross-year group teams enhance peer-to-peer mentoring opportunities, particularly in support of year 7 students.

If multiple, select the most frequent.

Mentors bring technical expertise and knowledge of the workplace and STEM careers. They would ideally engage with the team weekly in person or remotely. Teams can have more than one mentor.

This hidden field is being used to calculate the commitment fees on the final page.

This hidden field is being used to help with connectors/financials.

Financial Support

We’re on a mission to make STEM accessible to all. Thanks to our generous supporters, we have a number of robotic kit bursaries for eligible teams. Bursaries are only available to non-fee paying institutions. For more information on eligibility criteria and conditions, please refer to our financial support page.

How to meet our targeting criteria

We ask you to meet the baseline and primary requirements to be considered for a provision bursary. These are deliberately flexible as you know your student’s needs best and we know needs vary greatly. Please ensure you demonstrate how you will meet this criteria in your application for financial support.

 

Baseline requirements

You must intend to garner participation from one of these criteria:

  • Young people in low-income households or neighbourhoods (determined by % free school meals, Education Investment Area proximity, Indices of Multiple Deprivation)

  • Young people who do not have a developed interest in STEM subjects

  • Young people who are underrepresented in STEM

Primary requirements 

You will strive to ensure at least 50% of your team comprises of young people who:

  • Identify as girls or non-binary

  • Are from underrepresented groups (e.g. BAME)

  • Are neurodiverse or have special educational needs (SEND)

  • Would be first in family to university

  • Are at risk of becoming NEET, or who demonstrate poor attendance, low educational engagement and attainment

 

See Eligibility Criteria, Terms and Conditions.

Please be explicit in how you will assemble a diverse team and ensure the provision supports those less engaged or less represented in STEM. You might also reference any support mechanisms and previous success delivering similar activities in your setting. MAX 500 words.

Confirmation

The commitment fee per of £299+VAT provides a team of up to 15 students with access to curriculum mapped content, online resources, game elements for the new season’s challenge, free entry to local practices, a regional tournament and the UK Championship (if applicable).

Additional teams are charged at £99+VAT.

Robotics kits for teams not in receipt of a bursary are chargeable at £999+VAT

£

Plus VAT. This field calculates the total commitment fees for all teams for the 2024-25 season.

£

Plus VAT. This applies to teams that are purchasing a new kit, and does not include the commitment fee. Kits are reusable year on year.

£

Plus VAT.

Please confirm your financial contact information for invoicing. (Invoices are only issued after relevant financial support decisions have been made)

Please indicate which company or individual you heard about us from – we’d love to thank them!

Attend a qualifying tournament

Itching to know what FIRST Tech Challenge is like in action? Join James Rhee and his teams on Sat 23 Mar, from 13:00 at Harris Academy Sutton to experience an electrifying qualifying tournament. Can make that date? Come along to any event below:

Thu 29 Feb – Belfast
Sat 02 Mar – Liverpool
Tue 05 Mar – Sheffield
Thu 07 Mar – Stoke-on-Trent
Sat 09 Mar – Bournemouth
Tue 12 Mar – Alconbury
Sat 16 Mar – London
Wed 20 Mar – Edinburgh
Wed 24 Apr – Birmingham

Join the guest list

FIRST Tech Challenge UK - National Championship 2022-23

Join the Game Changer Squad

“I wish I had this at school” is something we hear all the time from our Game Changers. Help us give young people opportunities in STEM that would otherwise be out of their reach.

Join the Game Changer Squad

  • We build More Than Robots

    We use robots, role models and competitions to make STEM more approachable and inclusive, empowering young people to make informed choices about their future.