A team of VEX Robotics students from St John’s Grammar Secondary Campus in Belair, SA, travelled to St Louis USA to represent Australia in the VEX Robotics World Championships.
Following their win in the Australian Championships in December 2025, driven by their excellence in engineering, design, teamwork and performance, ‘Team Frij’ – Thomas (Year 9), Teresa (Year 10), Judy and Niki (Year 12) and old scholar Eric Gu – joined nearly 1000 teams from 60 countries at the World Championships from 18–25 April 2026.
Highlights across three days of competition at the vast America’s Center included Thomas and Eric carrying the Australian flag at the opening ceremony; some strong early wins; challenging match-ups against top-tier teams from Ireland, Spain and China; and a memorable closing ceremony that included the launch of next year’s VEX Robotics season. The following day, our team was already designing their next robot!
Our students demonstrated a wide range of STEM skills at the Championships, including mechanical design, electronics, coding, and physics. They also excelled in teamwork, documentation and communication, and more than held their own on the world stage. This is especially significant given relatively short three-year history of robotics at St John’s Grammar.
Buit beyond wins and losses, the World Championships were all about global collaboration, shared passion, and exposing our VEX Robotics students to experiences that can’t be replicated in the classroom – including the chance to travel across the globe and broaden their world view, immersed in another culture.
Away from the competition our St John’s Grammar team enjoyed exploring St Louis, checking out the Mississippi River and St Louis’ iconic 192m-tall Gateway Arch, and visiting the Chess World Hall of Fame, City Zoo and City Museum.
Our team also had the opportunity to meet VEX founder Bob Mimlitch in person and show him their robot in action; and slipped into an American sporting frame of mind at Busch Stadium in downtown St Louis, watching the St Louis Cardinals play in a Major League Baseball game.
Congratulations to our young innovators, and many thanks to our sponsors for their support: Blackwood Lions Club, StollzNow Foundation, Rosen Group and the Design and Technology Teachers Association.
We’re looking forward to more VEX Robotics excitement in 2026/27 and beyond.