Christel House South Africa (CHSA) played host to hundreds of students from a record 89 teams participating as part of the World Robot Olympiad (WRO). Two teams from Christel House won in the Western Cape regional competition at the school and qualified for the national Robot Olympiad.
First held in 2004, the World Robot Olympiad takes place across 90 countries and brings together young people from all over the world to develop their creativity and problem-solving skills through challenging educational robotics competitions. The competition tasks teams to program their robot to do certain tasks while navigating through pre-determined courses, and the team which completes the course the quickest and most accurately scores the highest. Robotics, coding, and other information and communications technology (ICT) programs form a key part of the CHSA curriculum. Understanding the fundamentals of technology will be essential to securing a job in the future. Cedric Esterhuizen, WRO Western Cape Vice Chair and Head of the Robotics Department at CHSA says: "Robotics offers an opportunity to follow a career path that students haven't considered before and allows them to make a contribution to an ever-changing technological world.” Funding for robotics equipment, training and competition fees remain a significant barrier for many underprivileged schools across South Africa. With the support of Dell Technologies in South Africa, CHSA is committed to help more young people bridge the digital divide. “We are proud to have supported Christel House for more than a decade,” says Doug Woolley, General Manager at Dell Technologies, South Africa. “Dell is a leading innovator in fields such as artificial intelligence, and we believe that Christel House’s commitment to equipping South Africa’s youth with the most sought-after skills in the world today plays an essential contributing role in the future of our country