Discovery Primary Full Service School learners showcased their talent and determination by securing third place overall at the West Rand Robotics Resolute League held at Curro Krugersdorp on May 28.

The achievement is particularly impressive as robotics and coding are newly introduced extracurricular activities at the school. Despite having limited preparation time and no prior competition experience, the grade three learners rose to the challenge and brought home a trophy and certificates.

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According to coach Yolandie Conradie, the learners entered the competition with uncertainty about what to expect.

She said that at the school, they have five Grade Three classes and one LSEN class. They decided to select two learners from each class to take part in the competition.

Two teams and one reserve team were selected, with a total of 12 learners participating.

For nearly three hours, the young competitors remained focused and determined as they coded their robots and completed the Novice Mission. Their teamwork, problem-solving abilities and commitment impressed their coach.

“Watching their teamwork, problem-solving skills and the way each learner fulfilled their role so beautifully truly blew my mind,” Yolandie said.

Although the learners performed exceptionally well, they missed an important instruction during the competition briefing. Participants were only allowed to load one item at a time to complete the mission, but the teams unknowingly violated the rule, resulting in a significant loss of points.

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“Realistically, we may even have placed first,” she admitted.

However, she said the experience taught the learners a valuable lesson about the importance of listening carefully to instructions.

“Instead of disappointment, our learners walked away with something even more valuable – an important life lesson. Listening carefully during briefing time is incredibly important, and that too is part of learning.”

Following the team’s success, the school hopes to expand its robotics programme and eventually host a similar tournament on its own campus, providing more learners with opportunities to develop coding, robotics and critical-thinking skills.