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First-Year Sixth Form Bolton Student Reaches National Robotics Championship

A first-year student at The Sixth Form Bolton has successfully competed in a national robotics competition, representing both his college and community on a national stage.

Albaraa Elmessery, a former student of Kearsley Academy, is currently studying A Levels in Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics, alongside the Honours Programme at The Sixth Form Bolton. He is also an active member of Fitya UK, a Muslim youth organisation that runs a range of community initiatives, including a competitive robotics team.

The Fitya UK robotics team is made up of young people aged 12–18. The team took part in the FIRST Tech Challenge UK whose lead sponsors are ⁠RTX Corporation. The challenge is a nationally recognised, student-led programme that challenges participants to design, build and programme a fully functioning robot to solve an annual engineering challenge.

Over a six-month period, teams undertake all aspects of the project, including mechanical design, coding, match strategy, outreach, fundraising, and sponsorship, before competing in a series of events.

The team’s journey began with local ‘scrimmages’—non-competitive events focused on collaboration, testing and development—before progressing to a regional qualifying tournament in Sheffield. There, they competed in matches and presented their work to a panel of industry judges, who assessed their engineering processes, teamwork and community engagement.

Following a strong performance, the team advanced to the UK Championship, a significant achievement in a highly competitive national field.

In addition to his work in robotics, Albaraa plays an active role within Fitya UK, supporting younger members and volunteering as a young leader at holiday camps.

Speaking about his experience, Albaraa said:

“I’ve really enjoyed being a member of Fitya Bolton and supporting the younger members. Studying STEM subjects at The Sixth Form Bolton made the robotics challenge especially interesting for me. It has helped me develop valuable skills in leadership, teamwork and communication, which are essential for my studies and future career. I hope to work in data analytics in the future, and this experience has been a great foundation.”

The Sixth Form Bolton congratulates Albaraa and his teammates on reaching the UK Championship and recognises the dedication, teamwork and innovation demonstrated throughout the competition.