Global first for Great Britain: All-girls robotics team win gold at the youth “Olympics for robots"

Competing alongside 193 countries, Team Great Britain won gold for the prestigious Katherine Johnson Award for Engineering Documentation, which celebrates their meticulous approach to documenting their thought process behind building the robot and the challenges they overcame in preparation for the event.

Their victory marks the first time a UK team has won an individual team award in the competition’s history. They also ranked in the top 50% of teams for their robot’s performance, securing 8 wins out of 11 matches – an impressive achievement for their international debut.

Beyond the victory, Team Great Britain’s achievement is a landmark moment for female representation in a field where women are underrepresented. "It was an absolute privilege for these girls to represent the UK, and winning the first ever UK engineering award at the competition is a testament to their resilience and talent,” said Toby Osborne, Robotics Coach for Team Great Britain and Assistant Headteacher at Bournemouth School for Girls. “They’ve had to overcome communication barriers, adapt quickly, and collaborate with young people from dozens of nations. Their engineering documentation reflects their dedication and ability to communicate complex ideas clearly to international judges. This gold medal shows that anyone can excel in STEM – especially girls!"

The 4-day annual event, which took place 26-29 September, is more than a robotics challenge. It is an international effort to drive collaboration, inclusivity and learning amongst the world’s innovative young minds soon to be responsible for solving the planet’s biggest challenges. FIRST Global was established by serial inventor Dean Kamen, who believes in making science and technology as exhilarating as sport while investing in future change-makers.

The team's win follows their triumph at the FIRST Tech Challenge UK Championship in June, where they were crowned National Inspire Award Winners – the challenge's highest accolade. Industry judges praised them for “setting the bar for future years.” In recognition of their achievement, FIRST UK, the charity which runs the challenge in the UK, selected the team to represent Great Britain at the FIRST Global competition in Athens.

Patrice John-Baptiste, Head of Impact and Engagement at FIRST UK reflected, “We at FIRST UK are immensely proud of Team Great Britain’s accomplishment! What the team has achieved on a global stage with only a few years of experience is testament to their tenacity, dedication and inclusive approach to robotics. This is more than building robots – through their outreach and campaigning, they have individually demonstrated great leadership, empowering young women to be proactive in forming a more equitable future in STEM where women have a firm place as innovators in industry. They are incredible and the industry will be lucky to have them taking on the world’s biggest challenges in the future.”

FIRST Tech Challenge UK empowers young people aged 12-18 with the technical knowledge and soft skills to thrive in STEM and beyond. Working like teams in industry and often supported by a mentor, they design, build and programme a robot to compete at progressive events. From September to March, they hone new skills such as communication, teamwork, programming, project management, fundraising, design and engineering.

The programme is run by charity, FIRST UK, with a mission to make STEM more approachable, diverse and inclusive, empowering young people to make informed choices about their future. As part of the global FIRST movement, they seek to make STEM more approachable, diverse and inclusive for young people using robots, industry role models, student-led learning and sporting style. It is funded by leading STEM industry partners, Arm, Raytheon Technologies, XTX Markets, Gene Haas Foundation, Bloomberg and Qualcomm.

This year’s competition theme, “Feeding the Future,” challenged young people to deploy their critical thinking, problem-solving, communications and engineering skills in a strategic game that explores the pressing need for a sustainable global food system.

For the girls, the experience extended far beyond their technical achievements. Team member, Emily, reflected on the life-changing impact of the event: "This week has changed how I see the world and the people in it. Meeting like-minded individuals from all over the globe reminded me that we’re not just robotics students – we’re athletes, musicians and artists too. I feel proud to represent women across the UK who may not have the chance to explore STEM without fear of judgment. We’ve shown that you can wear makeup and pink while building an amazing robot."

Team Great Britain – Caitlyn, Emily, Ella, Dani and Gizem – have shattered the stereotypes to promote the inclusivity of women in STEM. From competing in FIRST Tech Challenge UK to winning gold on the global stage, the team have proved women belong in STEM and are capable of making an impact on an international scale.