Contenders ready? Children aged 7-11-years-old at UK primary schools should get set for a new challenge to design a gadget to improve sporting performance.
BBC Children’s and Education and the Micro:bit Educational Foundation have teamed up with the hit TV show Gladiators to call on primary schools to take part in an exciting new design competition.
The Gladiators are throwing down the gauntlet for children to design an innovative gadget which uses the pocket-sized micro:bit computer to enhance their performance. It’s all about design and is the perfect way to start with the BBC micro:bit. All that is needed is the desire to explore and create.
Opening at 11am on Tuesday 15 October, primary schools have until midday on Friday 6 December 2024 to submit their entries.
The winning school will receive a visit from a Gladiator, a £500 voucher for computing equipment and have their design turned into a prototype gadget. They will also enjoy a special Gladiator-themed coding day with a BBC micro:bit expert. The top 50 schools will also win classroom sets of micro:bits*.
Phantom says: “We want to hear the exciting ideas children come up with to test our fitness. No need to know about coding, just use your imagination to set us a challenge to help us to become faster, stronger and even more unstoppable!”
Dynamite says: “Technology can really help improve performance by measuring lots of different aspects including speed, force and balance. So, get creative and think about fun ways to use the BBC micro:bit to improve our sporting performance.”
Helen Foulkes, BBC Head of Education, says: “We’re calling on primary school teachers around the country to harness the power of the Gladiators and fire up children’s imaginations. The BBC micro:bit is such a versatile device, and we hope pupils will come up with some really creative design ideas to test the mighty Gladiators.”
Gareth Stockdale, CEO, Micro:bit Educational Foundation, says: “We are so excited to put the power of both the BBC micro:bit and the Gladiators into pupils’ hands. Design thinking is a valuable process to teach children, using it in this competition is a fun way to get all pupils involved. Nearly 700,000 micro:bits have been distributed to UK primary schools, funded by Nominet as part of the BBC micro:bit – the next gen campaign. With the features packed onto the micro:bit and the incredible skills of Dynamite and Phantom, the creative possibilities are endless – we can’t wait to see what UK schools come up with.”
The competition launches with an exclusive Live Lesson featuring Phantom and Dynamite, which is available to watch from 11am Tuesday 15 October on the BBC Teach website.
The duo compete head-to-head in a fun design and technology lesson for primary schools as children across the UK are encouraged to join in, in real-time, with a series of curriculum-linked design and technology activities. For schools that are inspired by the Live Lesson and ready to take the next step, BBC Teach is offering free and easy to use lesson plans to bring Gladiators fun into the classroom and help to engage children with the competition.
Each school can submit a maximum of three entries. The competition is open to UK residents aged between 7 and 11 years of age. The entry form, terms and conditions and privacy notice can be found at bbc.co.uk/teach/microbit
The competition closes at midday on Friday 6 December 2024 and the winner will be announced on Monday 10 March 2025.
Gladiators is a Hungry Bear and MGM Alternative UK, a division of Amazon MGM Studios, production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer and was commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight, BBC Head of Entertainment Commissioning. The Executive Producers are Dan Baldwin and Lou Brown for Hungry Bear, and Dom Bird and Barry Poznick for MGM Alternative UK, a division of Amazon MGM Studios. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Clodagh O’Donoghue.
The original American Gladiators series was created by Johnny C. Ferraro and Dan Carr and developed by Johnny C. Ferraro.
* In addition to the winning school, another top three entries will each receive a £500 voucher for computing equipment, a classroom set of micro:bits and a Gladiator-themed coding day with a BBC micro:bit expert.
In the first round of judging, the top 50 entries will be selected by professional judges from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). These entries will each receive a classroom set of micro:bits. In the second round of judging, a panel of technology and experts, including IMechE and leaders from the Micro:bit Educational Foundation and Nominet, alongside a BBC chair, will review the top 50 entries to pick the winner and three runners up.
About the BBC micro:bit – the next gen campaign
In 2023, the BBC micro:bit – the next gen campaign launched to provide free micro:bits to every primary school across the UK. A total of almost 700,000 micro:bits have been distributed, as well as brand-new teaching resources to accelerate computational thinking, programming, digital creativity and machine learning knowledge among primary school pupils. The project has been supported by Nominet, the guardians of the .UK domain, whose funding has enabled the micro:bits to be provided for free to UK primary schools.
About Micro:bit Educational Foundation
The Micro:bit Educational Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation founded in the UK in 2016, with the aim of inspiring every child to create their best digital future.
We do this by:
- developing hardware and software that inspires young people to get excited about technology and the opportunities it presents for them
- creating free, user-friendly educational resources to support teachers in delivering engaging and creative lessons
- working with like-minded partners to deliver high-impact educational programmes across the globe.
Launched as part of the BBC’s pioneering Make It Digital initiative in 2014, the BBC micro:bit is a pocket-sized computer that gives children an enjoyable way to learn digital creativity and programming skills, enabling them to shape their best digital future. Following the initial launch, the Micro:bit Educational Foundation was founded in 2016 as a non-profit organisation, continuing to develop, advance and extend the reach of the micro:bit and accompanying resources across the globe. 9.5 million devices have been distributed globally, and it is estimated that 52 million young people from more than 60 countries have benefited from learning with the micro:bit so far.
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