FOLLOWING their recent success at the VEX Robotics Ireland National Championships held at MTU, Kinsale Community School will be sending four teams to the VEX Robotics World Championships in St Louis, USA from April 21st to 24th.

Of the seven Irish teams qualifying for the world championships, four are from Kinsale Community School, underlining the school’s leadership in Irish robotics.

Competing against the country’s leading robotics programmes, four KCS teams delivered one of the strongest performances in the competition’s history, securing an outstanding haul of awards including Excellence Award, Tournament Champions, Design Award and Tournament Finalist (X2).

The Excellence Award — the event’s highest honour — recognises excellence in engineering design, documentation, teamwork, strategy and match performance. Winning this alongside the Tournament Championship highlights the strength and consistency of the KCS robotics programme.

Delivered nationally by VEX Robotics Ireland and organised globally by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF), with long-term partner Dell Technologies, the championships mark another milestone in nearly a decade of sustained robotics development at KCS.

What began as a small TY initiative has evolved into one of Ireland’s most successful school-based STEM programmes under the leadership of Eddie Farren and TY Coordinator Niamh Hay.

Second-year student Riva O’Reilly said that ‘working on VEX Robotics has been a fantastic experience. Building and programming our robot, working as a team and growing in confidence as we competed through to national level. It’s been a blast.’

Deputy Principal Kathleen O’Brien added: ‘Robotics at KCS is about building confidence, creativity and resilience. Students learn to think critically, collaborate effectively and apply knowledge in real contexts. These results reflect years of vision, commitment and belief in what our students can achieve.’