From Solihull to 15th in the world
Last season, our third, the team went from a standing start to representing the United Kingdom. The only UK team at the FTC Premier Event World Finals in Istanbul, and a semifinal place.
Enrol nowRegisterBook Free Tech AssessmentThe competition team, ages 12 to 17. Places are earned. Five hours a week, in person, September to July. Solihull only.
Accredited, recognised and backed
What a season actually is
15th
in the world
At the FTC Premier Event World Finals in Istanbul, June 2026.
15
places on the roster
Six departments, and an assessment everybody sits on the same criteria.
5
hours a week, in person
Every week from September to July, at the Studio Lab in Shirley.
The season, on film
Built in Shirley, driven in Istanbul in June 2026. Press play to see what a season looks like from the inside.
What the team actually won
Regional Championship Design Award winners and Winning Alliance Captain. National Championship Division Winning Alliance. The only UK team at the FTC Premier Event World Finals in Istanbul, reaching the semifinals against leading international teams. Achieved in the team’s third season, with a roster largely of new starters.
Nobody is selected in. Every one of those Robocoders started in an ordinary weekly session.
Run like an engineering organisation
Robocoders apply to a department and hold that job for the whole season. The robot is one deadline among several, which is why the team needs more than programmers.
Construction
Robocoders design the chassis, cut and fit the parts, and rebuild the drivetrain when the game punishes it.
Programming
They write the autonomous routines, tune the sensors, and debug between matches with two minutes on the clock.
CAD
They model every bracket before it is cut, so a part that snaps on the Saturday is printed by the Tuesday.
Media
They shoot and edit the season, run the team's channels, and build the pit display the judges read first.
Outreach
They teach. Team members run sessions for younger children, and the team is judged on how well they do it.
Finance
They budget the season, write the sponsorship approaches, and account for every pound raised.
Who is actually in the room
Two coaches run the season, both working engineers. Coach is a title we reserve for the competition team.
Head Coach
Salman Shaikh
Robotics Engineer at August Robotics
Leads the team through the season, from the game reveal in September to the last match in July, and led the trip to Istanbul.
View profileAssistant Head Coach
Qasim Iqbal
Course Designer at Robocode
Runs the build and the departments week to week, and writes the courses the Competitor Badge is earned on.
View profile
How they got there
The route to a world final runs through a regional qualifier and a national championship. Then it runs through money.
Getting a team and a robot to Istanbul cost more than the season budget held. So the team raised it: a community fundraiser, sponsorship approaches written by their own Finance department, and FIRST UK covering the registration fee.
They came home semifinalists, 15th in the world.
How a place is earned
Every applicant is assessed on the same criteria. They are below, in full, so that nobody has to guess what the bar is.
Start in an ordinary weekly session
Every Robocoder on the roster started in a normal weekly course. There is no separate entry route, and no audition to get into the building.
Earn the Competitor Badge
It is awarded after course 3 of either track, robotics or game development. That is the published bar, and it is the same bar for everyone.
Sit the assessment
Skill and attitude, assessed on the same criteria for every applicant. Applying does not secure a place.
Take a department
Successful applicants pick one of the six departments and hold that job for the season, September to July.
Places are earned.
Fifteen of them, and they are the ceiling of the programme rather than the entrance to it. Every Robocoder who went to Istanbul started in an ordinary weekly session. The team runs at Solihull only.
RegisterWhere we run
Not every centre runs a competition team. These do.
What it costs
One price, stated plainly, with what it covers.
£300
a month + £40 joining fee
September to July. The joining fee is paid once, with the first month.
That covers the weekly five hour training session, competition equipment and robot parts, FTC team registration, and the entry fees for the regional qualifier.
The team counts as one of your places. So a Robocoder already on a course unlocks Plus, with ten percent off both. They have joined already, so the joining fee is not charged again.
Robocode is Ofsted registered, so the fee is eligible for the Universal Credit childcare claim of up to 85 percent. You pay the standard price, we give you a proper invoice, and you claim it back yourself. Eligibility depends on your circumstances.
Some places are covered by team sponsorship. If cost is the reason your child would not apply, say so when you register.
RegisterThe room this all starts in
BBC News came to Shirley to talk about screen time. The Studio Lab they filmed is the same room the competition team trains in every week.
As featured onWho backed the season
JAMJAR backed the trip to Istanbul. Their logo went on the team tops and flew with the robot.
The team’s own engineering portfolio describes them as a local business, a dessert shop in Birmingham, which is rather the point. The money that put a British team on that field came from down the road.
Sponsor the 2026/27 season
Four rungs, and the first one is what last season’s shirt sponsor actually paid.
Shirt
£500
Your logo on the team tops, your name on this page, and a credit in the season film.
Robot
£1,500
The above, plus your logo on the competition robot, so it appears in every match photograph.
Season
£5,000
The above, plus a banner at the events we attend, and signage in the Studio Lab.
World
£12,000
You fund the trip. The team travels under your name, with the film and the photography.
Sponsor usRegister for the 2026/27 season.
Tell us your child’s name and age. This season’s assessments have already been held, and registrations are still open.
Book Free Tech AssessmentThere are fifteen places on the roster, and every applicant is assessed on the same criteria, whenever they apply.
Questions
- How old does my child need to be?
The team is typically 12 to 17, working across mixed ages. Younger Robocoders work towards it through the weekly courses.
- What is the time commitment?
Five hours a week from September to July, about ten months, plus competition days. Robocode organises the travel and the event logistics.
- Does my child need to be good at coding already?
No. Six departments means the team needs builders, designers, writers, film makers and somebody who can run a budget.
- What happens if they do not get a place this season?
They carry on with the weekly course and apply again next season. Nobody is turned away from a course for not making the squad.
- Where does the team train?
At the centres listed under Where we run on this page, each with a link to its own page and address. Not every centre runs a competition team; if yours is not listed, ask your centre about FTC.
- Can a company or a school sponsor the team?
Yes. Tell us roughly what you have in mind and we will send the sponsorship pack.