FAQs

Check out our season timeline.

From September until March, teams typically meet weekly for a couple of hours to design, build, code their robots, and develop their business plan. These team sessions are complemented by key events as touchpoints.

Scrimmages: Non-competitive local meet-ups where teams collaborate, troubleshoot, practice and get feedback. Any stage of the build is welcome – even a box of parts.

Qualifying Tournaments: Teams across a region come together to compete on the field in matches and present to industry judges for awards. It’s not just about the robot – engineering decisions, outreach and teamwork are all assessed.

UK Championship: The top teams across the UK compete on the national stage to be crowned More Than Robots^® champions.

Teams should not be more than 15 team members to ensure distribution of roles and strong hands-on involvement.

The kit is reusable. Most organisations come back year-on-year, but if you receive a kit bursary and decide to participate for less than three seasons, you’ll need to return the kit as part of your offboarding.

FIRST^® Tech Challenge is open to schools, youth organisations and home education groups across the UK working with young people aged 12-18.

Applications should be made on behalf of an organisation rather than individual team members, so whether you’re a teacher, youth worker or club leader, you’ll register on behalf of your organisation.

There is financial support available for non-fee-paying schools, SEND/ASN/ALN settings, Alternative Providers and registered youth organisations.

Registration opens formally in May each year. The form will take around 5 minutes to complete, longer if you are applying for financial support.

You can also sign up for alerts from the More Than Robots^® community year-round.

Teams typically meet weekly for a couple of hours after school or at lunchtime. As a Team Lead, you’ll facilitate their meetings and ensure everyone is kept safe. Most teams independently work outside of this structured time.

There are also events to attend, including a local half-day meet-up (scrimmage) in Nov/Dec and a full-day regional tournament in Feb/Mar. If your team advances to champs, they’ll compete again in April at a two-day STEM spectacular.

You’re there to facilitate and coach – not teach! This is student-directed, expeditionary learning at its best. Ask the right questions, and they’ll find the right answers.

No. As the programme is student-led and peer-supported, you are not expected to teach them any technical skills. What will help you facilitate the programme is organisation, curiosity and a willingness to learn alongside your team.

There are plenty of resources for teams to learn from – and a local, national and global community to lean on.

Get started by exploring Makerspace, our educational platform, which you’ll receive access to during your onboarding.

After registering, you’ll attend a 45-minute induction webinar & FAQ session with other new team leads, experienced teachers and HQ.

You’ll then be allocated a Champion Organisation in your region that acts as your contact for technical support and guidance throughout the season. They also have a game field, which your team can access to practice on.

There will be an opportunity to attend face-to-face onboarding and networking events in your hub – including a kick-off event in September.

Teams also have access to industry mentors – you’ll receive more information on this as part of your onboarding.

The small but mighty team from HQ are also available if you hit any snags.

FIRST^® Tech Challenge is mapped to and accredited by the Universal Skills Framework 2.0, directly supporting young people to develop essential skills, including:

• Problem-solving – tackling technical and strategic challenges

• Creativity – designing robots and innovative solutions

• Planning – organising projects, roles and deadlines

• Leadership – guiding the team and making decisions

• Teamwork – collaborating to achieve shared goals

• Adapting – responding to new problems or strategies

• Speaking – presenting ideas, outreach and community engagement

Young people work on real-world challenges, using technology and methodologies they will encounter in the workplace of tomorrow, whilst interacting with role models from industry.

FIRST^® Tech Challenge evidences Gatsby Benchmarks:

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers.

5. Encounters with employers and employees.

6. Experiences of workplaces.

7. Encounters with further and higher education.

Teams use Java to code their robots. They can choose to use block-based coding, OnBot Java or Android Studio, depending on their experience level and goals.

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Team members are automatically eligible for Industrial Cadets Gold and British Science Association Gold CREST Award.