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Published: Tue 28 Apr 2026

Staffordshire team End_Tec are crowned Champions at the FIRST® LEGO® League UK National Final

Hundreds of young people from across the UK and beyond gathered at Harrogate Convention Centre on Saturday, 25 April for the FIRST® LEGO® League UK National Final. The event concluded with End_Tec, from Endon High School, Staffordshire, taking home the prestigious Champion’s Award.

Hosted by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the national final brought together 68 teams of talented students aged 9–16 to celebrate creativity, teamwork and technical excellence. Throughout the day, teams presented their Innovation Projects and Robot Designs to panels of expert judges, demonstrating their engineering knowledge, problem solving skills and collaboration.

This year’s challenge theme, UNEARTHED℠, invited teams to explore archaeology, history, heritage and cultural preservation. Acting as explorers and engineers, participants developed innovative solutions to uncover artefacts, hidden treasures and long forgotten stories. The final marked the culmination of months of preparation and hands on learning.

Alongside technical achievement, teams demonstrated the competition’s core values of inclusion, discovery and innovation. Awards were presented across categories, including Robot Performance, Robot Design, Core Values and Innovation Project, with the overall Champion’s Award winner selected to represent the UK at an Open International FIRST® LEGO® League event in Mexico later in the year.

Designed to inspire the next generation of engineers, FIRST® LEGO® League supports young people to explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) through practical challenges that build essential life skills such as teamwork, creativity and critical thinking.

Shaun Mitchell, teacher and coach of End_Tec, said:

“This journey has been absolutely incredible. The team has worked tirelessly, night after night and every lunchtime, and seeing all that commitment payoff is just amazing. I’m so proud of them.

“I’ve been involved in FIRST® LEGO® League for 10 years, and this is the first time we’ve won the Champion’s Award, which makes it incredibly special. Events like this are so important for young people, they get to experience the pressure of real-world challenges, see what others can achieve with the same tools, and realise that when they work together, they can do truly incredible things.”

Hannah Rees, Senior Education Manager, FIRST® LEGO® LEAGUE, said:

“FIRST® LEGO® League allows young people to experience engineering in action. It gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with coding and robotics, and design innovative solutions to tackle real-world problems.

“The IET is proud to be the UK delivery partner of this fantastic STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) initiative, which introduces children to the world of engineering at an early age. We are also grateful to our volunteers who mentor, coach, referee, and actively engage in the programme. Last season, we saw more than 66,000 students and over 10,000 outstanding teams compete at regional tournaments, highlighting an exceptional calibre of young talent.

“There is a significant need for young people with STEM skills to fill the next generation of engineering roles. With the UK needing approximately 3.5 million STEM roles by 2028, highlighting an ongoing workforce demand.”

The national final also featured a dedicated STEM exhibition, showcasing interactive initiatives and introducing the new FIRST® LEGO® League Future Edition – a Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence challenge launching in August 2026.

For more information about the FIRST® LEGO® League and how to get involved, visit: FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge.

You can watch the national final on YouTube. 

The event was supported by sponsors Qualcomm and Bechtel, who share the mission of empowering young people through engaging STEM experiences.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Please note that interviews and all photos from the event are available upon request. 

About the IET

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Media enquiries to:

Megan Stearn
Senior Communications Executive
E: meganstearn@theiet.org