But in May next year, they will compete at the world championships in Dallas, Texas, after finishing in the top three at a national robotics competition in Lower Hutt.
Year 9 students Holly Brown, Zach Nicholson, Micah Langford, Keagan Macklin, Joshua Bergin, Grace Goodenough and Arleana Woo finished third and fourth overall in the teamwork and skills events at the "SlapShot" Vex IQ 2022/2023 challenge with their robot twins, Johnny 5 and Tobor.
Out of 20 teams from across New Zealand, the Hillmorton Tigers were the only South Islanders in the middle school category. It was also the first time Hillmorton High had fielded a team at the national level.
The team won an additional award from the judges for the implementation of quality robot programming to solve the game challenge.
Hillmorton High head of digital technology and commerce Liz Williams said the students have been coming regularly after school to build the robots and attending monthly scrimmages against other schools in the city.
“In the lead up to (the competition), they were very anxious and very nervous.
“They weren’t really sure what to expect when we went up there, but the vibe and the excitement of the competition really lifted them up and carried them through.”
The school initially ran the robotic course as part of its standard technology programme four years ago with a couple of robots it could afford to purchase.
Williams said the demand for the robotic course has grown to the point where the school is now offering a year 10 programme next year.
“(The students) are absolutely keen to join the course next year, especially now.
"Now that we found out that we are qualified for worlds, there are lots of heads getting together now to try make this possible for the kids.”
