SATRO Challenge

February saw a welcome return to face-to-face competition in the SATRO Problem Solving Challenge, which sees teams from schools all over the country competing under time pressure to design and build a device to overcome a tricky engineering problem.

Teams from the Second and Third Year (Gabriela, Annabel, Eleanor, Anthony, Oscar, Monty), Fourth Year (Evan, Alfie, Olly, Annabelle, Will , Noah) and Lower Sixth (Tobias, Elliot, James, Liv, Daisy, Jess) headed to Heathside School in Weybridge for the Regional Heat.

The teams had 90 minutes to design and build a device that would accurately measure a time of ten seconds, switching on a light once the time had elapsed. Quality of design and construction was crucial, especially to ensure that the device would function reliably when the judges came to test it.  All three teams produced ingenious solutions, in each case making use of a calibrated set of ramps which a marble should, it was hoped, navigate in exactly the required time. Our Lower Sixth team were delighted to see their device measure a time of 10.2 seconds, enough to win the Heat despite some stiff competition!