Our flagship STEM outreach activity returned this year with Optima supporting and judging two regional finals.
At Optima, we believe that investing in the next generation of engineers, scientists and problem-solvers is one of the most meaningful things we can do as a business. That’s why, for the second-year running, we’re proud to have played an active role in the FIRST Lego League (FLL) — a national competition that challenges school teams of children aged 9–16 to build and program Lego robots to complete a complex set of missions, all themed around a real-world STEM topic.
This year, Optima continued our commitment as a Bronze-level sponsor of the Bristol regional finals, once again providing Lego robotics kits to two schools in the region. Our involvement didn’t stop at sponsorship, however — we also put our people at the heart of the action.
The Bristol Finals took place in Filton on 26–27 February
Principal Consultant and STEM Lead Tom Madden, who leads Optima’s involvement in the FLL programme, represented us as a judge at the Bristol finals. As well as evaluating the teams’ innovation projects and robot designs, he had the honour of presenting the Robot Design Award to the category winners.
Reflecting on the event, Tom said: “It was a great event again this year — the imagination and passion for problem solving of the kids is amazing, and it’s incredibly impressive how much they achieve.”
Watching young people tackle complex engineering challenges with creativity and confidence is a reminder of exactly why outreach like these matters.
The Gloucester Finals were held on the 18th of March
Optima were also represented at the Gloucester FLL finals, where our Senior Consultant, Sam Edwards, volunteered as a judge, evaluating teams from three local schools on this year’s theme: UNEARTHED.
The standard was genuinely impressive. The three teams Sam judged tackled archaeological challenges with a level of rigour and originality that would not look out of place in a professional setting.
One team proposed a surface- and ground-scanning machine to help archaeologists pinpoint buried fossils, minimising the environmental disruption caused by large-scale excavation. A second took inspiration from the gimballing movement of birds’ heads to design a solution for transporting delicate artefacts safely across rough terrain, including a memorable reenactment of a chicken’s gait from one of the students. The third conducted their own experiments and analysis to identify materials best suited to stabilising artefacts during excavation and transport.
All three teams had consulted professional archaeologists, university departments, and a range of academic sources in developing their presentations. With no teachers permitted in the judging room, the children fielded challenging questions entirely independently — and did so with impressive confidence.
Sam also presented the Robot Design Award at Gloucester, sponsored by Optima through our provision of robot kits to Bristol-region schools. The award went to Reading Blue Coat School’s team.
Overall Gloucester Winners
A special mention goes to Katherine Lady Berkeley’s School in Wotton-Under-Edge, who took home the overall Gloucester competition title. Competing in the FLL for the very first time, they distinguished themselves not by dominating the robot challenge mat, but through their inclusive approach to designing and coding their robot, their well-researched innovation presentation, and their embodiment of STEM principles across every aspect of the competition. They have earned a place at the regional finals in Harrogate, with the opportunity to progress further to the national finals — a remarkable achievement for a first-year team.
More Than a Competition
The FLL represents something that genuinely resonates with us at Optima. As a Systems Engineering consultancy, we know first-hand that the skills these children are developing — analytical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, creative engineering — are precisely those our industry depends on. The competitors of today could well be the professionals of tomorrow.
Tom and Sam have also previously mentored Winterbourne Academy’s FLL team, and that experience is every bit as rewarding as judging. Whether supporting on competition day or guiding a team through months of preparation, the sense of having made a real impact is clear. The energy these events generate must be experienced to be believed.
Get Involved
The FIRST Lego League thrives on the support of the wider STEM community. If your organisation is looking for a meaningful, hands-on way to contribute — whether through sponsorship or by volunteering as a judge or mentor — we would encourage you to explore the opportunities available. And if you are a school in the region yet to enter a team, this is a competition well worth being part of.
We are already looking forward to year three!
To find out more about the FIRST Lego League, visit firstlegoleague.org. Interested in how Optima supports STEM education and community initiatives? Get in touch with Tom Madden, our STEM Lead via tom@optimasc.co.uk.