Local pupils win engineering trophy in Abu Dhabi

Sponsorship from Brightwork, the leading Glasgow and Edinburgh based recruitment business, gave the whizz-kids this opportunity to compete in the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) 4 X 4 challenge at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

The team, ‘Team Docs’, joined more than 150 young people in the world-famous F1 Circuit in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the competition.

There, they took home the Coding Challenge Award, and were shortlisted for the Innovative Thinking Trophy.

Dr Simon Hadfield, principal teacher of Science at Woodfarm High School, said: “We were the only school in Scotland which competed in the JLR 4 X 4 Challenge, and I’m very proud of Suzanne, Jake, Rowan, Lewis, Rory and Danial.

“They are a credit to the school, to Scotland’s standing in the world, and to the future of STEM education in the UK.”

Shan Saba, director at Brightwork, which sponsored the team, said: “When we offered to sponsor the Woodfarm High School team, we wanted to encourage the uptake of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in schools.

“We are hugely impressed by the incredible performance of these young people, on the world stage.

Shan added: “That they’ve won the first Coding Champions prize in the world is a stellar achievement, and we couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Suzanne Mowat, 15, led the team which consisted of Rory Graham, 16, Jake Gibson, 15, Danial Tariq, 16, Rowan Roscher, 15, and Lewis Griffin, 14.

The team had to use computer coding to programme miniature remote-controlled four-wheel-drive vehicles they designed and built for the competition, all in their lunch hours and after school.