This year marks a significant milestone for robotics at Habs, with students from the Boys and Girls’ Schools coming together to form the first ever joint VEX Robotics team, HABS-Gliders.
The team comprised of Asha (10 Alpha), Asha (10 Aleph), Kayan (10H1), Joshua (10R1), Panshul (10C2) and Tasmin (10 Ansuz).
Bringing together students who had not previously worked as a team, this collaboration reflects the strength of partnership across the campus and the opportunities created when expertise, perspectives and ambition are shared. What followed was a year defined by persistence, creativity and collective problem solving, culminating in success on the world stage.
Below is a reflection of a team members thoughts:
I wanted to share some really exciting news and reflect on what has been a remarkable year for Habs’ first ever mixed VEX robotics team, HABS-Gliders.
In our first year of being a team, having never met each other before, we qualified for the VEX Robotics World Championship 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. That alone felt like a huge milestone- months of hard work, problem-solving and collaboration from every member of the team coming together to put us among the best robotics teams in the world, and to represent both schools on an international stage.
We then went on to make an even bigger impression at the event itself. We were honoured to receive the Judges Award in our division, with special recognition for our effort, resilience and overall team journey. That meant a lot to us, because it acknowledged not just the robot’s performance or skill score, but everything we went through together as a team to get there. Our pit area became a real attraction, teams from all over the world stopped by, the Paddington Bear poster turned out to be a brilliant conversation starter. Students we had never met before came up to us asking about our code and design processes, which was amazing to experience.
We are incredibly proud of what we achieved, especially given this was our first year competing together. It has been a real journey, full of challenges and growth and it has been so rewarding to see that recognised at this level.
What makes it especially meaningful is how the boys and girls worked together as one unified team. The team reflects exactly what the Habs Elstree campus stands for, collaboration across both schools building stronger relationships, broader perspectives and genuinely exceptional outcomes.
Throughout the season, we have been documenting our engineering designs and processes in our meticulously detailed 480-page engineering notebook.
I also want to say a sincere thank you to Ms Findley, without whom none of this would have been possible. Her time, energy and commitment, through countless hours of preparation and support outside of school, including many long drives, have made a real difference. We would also like to thank Ms Fagan for her support, and Mr Simm for giving us such a strong start and, as he likes to say, predicting we would be victorious!
Being part of the HABS-Gliders team has been a genuinely special experience, and one we are keen to build on. This feels like the beginning of a new chapter for Habs Elstree Robotics, and we hope it inspires students in younger years across both schools to get involved and collaborate with one another.
We are all excited for what lies ahead and are committed to keeping the momentum going through mentoring the future teams.
The achievements of HABS Gliders represent far more than competitive success. They reflect determination through challenge, openness in collaboration, confidence in sharing ideas and a commitment to learning and improvement at every stage of the journey.
As the first joint VEX team, their success sets a powerful precedent and opens an exciting new chapter for robotics at Habs. With mentoring, inspiration and momentum already building, this team has laid strong foundations for future students across both schools to follow.
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