A middle school teacher said that she hoped experience she gained at a robotics event will boost her pupils’ interest in high-tech education.Tamara Adderley, a M1 and functional academics teacher at Dellwood Middle School, in Pembroke, took part in the marine robotics workshop last summer.She spent five days at the University of Arizona Agriculture Technology Education Centre, in Tucson last July. The workshop was sponsored by the Marine Advanced Technology Education Centre, at Monterey Peninsula College in California. Mate is the governing body for American and international remotely operated vehicle competitions. Ms Adderley said: “I think my role is just to empower students, just to get them motivated and interested about science and technology.“I look forward to working with a new team of students this year and teaching them everything I have learnt.” Ms Adderley attended the event with a scholarship from Kaitlin Noyes, the director of the Ocean Academy at the Bermuda Institute of Sciences and said that she had “jumped at the opportunity”. She added: “It was amazing meeting and mingling with people from all walks of life. Learning more about the subject, and being able to engage in the physics and engineering part behind it was really interesting. It was very hands-on.” Workshop topics included engineering design, classroom and project management, building ROV frames, electronics and control systems, and how to run an ROV team or club. Ms Adderley said that her interest in robotics was sparked by her passion for science and her friendship with fellow Dellwood teacher Ajene Webb. The two women launched the school’s ROV programme for pupils in 2016. Dellwood has entered a team in the annual BIOS underwater robotics competition held at the National Sport centre each year since. Ms Adderley said: “The part that I really enjoy the most is seeing them work as a team.”She added that the work involved also forced pupils to troubleshoot. Ms Adderley said that she hoped to see Dellwood pupils go on to take part in international robotics competitions. She added: “That has never been done before.” •This year’s Mid-Atlantic Robotics in Education ROV Challenge will be held at the National Sports Centre on May 9. The event, sponsored by RenaissanceRe, is free