Three teenagers from Sheringham have pitted their engineering and teamwork skills against thousands of others from across the world at a robotics contest in Texas. 

Leo Malakar, 13, Noah Heath, 13, and William Cokayne, 14, represented the UK at the World VEX IQ Robotics Championship in Dallas, alongside 800 other teams from 47 countries. 

North Norfolk News: The Players, right, from Sheringham took on teams from around the world in the robotics championshipsThe Players, right, from Sheringham took on teams from around the world in the robotics championships (Image: Supplied)

The Sheringham High School pupils - whose team name is The Players - previously placed third in a national tournament in March. 

Noah said it was a “spectacular” event which boosted his interest in Stem - science, technology, engineering and maths - subjects.

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He said: “ We were able to meet, make friends and team up with people from all around the world. Although the event was extremely tough and nerve-wracking, I still had an amazing experience.”

North Norfolk News: From left are Noah Heath, William Cokayne and Leo Malakar at the robotics championshipsFrom left are Noah Heath, William Cokayne and Leo Malakar at the robotics championships (Image: Supplied)

William said he wanted to thank everyone who supported the team. He said: “Taking part in the event helped me to develop skills such as resilience and it boosted my confidence.”

They had one practice match then 10 competition matches over three days, walking more than 25,000 steps a day around a huge conference centre.

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Unlike most teams which worked within groups and had external teaching/tutoring, The Players worked entirely on their own, creating their robot after school and at weekends.

They ran an online fundraiser via GoFundMe to pay for their trip to the US.

The Players started out with a ranking of 71 in the design division of the contest and moved up to a ranking of 59. 

Leo said that they had already started working on their robot design for next year’s competition. 

They also hope to inspire more Norfolk youngsters to give robotics a go and start their own VEX IQ team - as currently the nearest one is in Stowmarket. Anyone interested can email them at theplayersvexiq@gmail.com or go to www.vexrobotics.com.