A Sheffield fire station had some unusual guests recently when robots from the popular Robot Wars television programme paid a visit.
It was all in aid of an event hosted by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, as part of a Get Started with Robotics programme being delivered in partnership with youth charity The Prince’s Trust.
Get Started is a personal development programme, for 16-25 year olds. It uses inspiring themes to engage with young people who are not in education or employment to take their first step to increase their confidence, skills and employability.
As well as teaching young people new specialist skills, the programme also widens and develops their personal and social skills.
The group of thirteen young people built their own robots and pitched them against each other in various challenges. At the end of the week long course the young people attended the demonstration by the famous robots, which were supplied by Roaming Robots, in the yard at Central fire station.
Station Manager Trevor Bernard said; “We were really happy to accommodate the robot display. As one of The Prince’s Trust partners we were really excited to see the Robot Wars in action.”
Kimberley Hendon, Get Started – Programme Executive, The Prince’s Trust said; “Throughout every programme we incorporate a real and meaningful group task, which challenges the young people and helps to develop their personal and social skills. By the end of the week, our aim is give young people a renewed sense of motivation and direction, to inspire them to move forward with their lives. We then continue to provide them with ongoing support for three to nine months to help engage them in education, employment or training.”