They have both earned spots at the challenge’s largest-ever UK Championship, welcoming 64 UK teams to the Copper Box Arena on 26-27 June 2025. They have high hopes for this year’s UK Championship.
As Winning Alliance Captain, team Fusion led their alliance with team Drakon, also from Harris Academy Sutton to victory. This accolade recognises their student-built robots as the region’s strongest-performing duo
James Rhee, their team coach and Director of Learning for Design, Technology and Art at Harris Academy Sutton, shared “I’m immensely proud of them. They’ve worked so hard for this.”
This year’s game, INTO THE DEEP, presented by RTX, challenged teams to design, build and code robots for a water-themed game where they have to complete various complex tasks.
FIRST Tech Challenge UK empowers young people aged 12-18 with the technical knowledge and soft skills to thrive in STEM and beyond. From September to March, working like teams in industry and often supported by a mentor, they design, build and program a robot to compete at progressive events. Teams hone new skills such as communication, teamwork, programming, project management, fundraising, design and engineering.
The programme is run by charity, FIRST UK, which aims to make STEM less intimidating, more diverse and inclusive. Supported by Arm, XTX Markets, RTX, Gene Haas Foundation, Bloomberg, Salesforce and Qualcomm, the charity is part of the global FIRST movement established in 1989, which reaches 650,000 young people worldwide each year.