Kids across London may be inspired to learn about coding and robotics after a team from a school in Beckenham qualified for a global Olympic-style event in Panama.

The First Global Challenge took place in Panama City from October 29th to November 1st, with over 190 countries represented. The event aimed to make STEM subjects as exciting as sporting contests and inspire youngsters to become the future innovators of technological solutions to solve various global problems.

This year’s theme was maximising biodiversity. Teams had to navigate their way through a simulated world while completing the task of restoring habitats and protecting endangered species.

Britain was represented by Langley Park School for Boys and, speaking to the BBC before the event, team member Adrian said the event would be “life-changing” for the team.

“None of us thought when we started that we would become the UK champions and represent our country in a global competition," he exclaimed.

Team-mate Kieran said: “When you overcome new problems and new challenges, you feel so much satisfaction - it’s just been incredible.

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Langley Park is the first comprehensive school to represent the UK at the event, something maths teacher Matt Fry, who introduced robotics to the school in 2023, said made him want to encourage other schools to take part.

Our after-school and holiday clubs offer kids the chance to learn robotics and coding for themselves, which could help more kids across London be part of future British teams taking part in the First Global Challenge.

The overall winner of this year’s event, picking up the gold in the Albert Einstein Award for International Excellence, was the team from Kazakhstan, with Aruba taking silver and Lebanon the bronze. Could your children one day be part of the team that wins a gold medal for Great Britain?