Learners at UTC Warrington have received a £1,000 investment to support their student-led robotics teams, after their exciting qualification earlier this month for the FIRST Tech Challenge UK National Final.
The vital funding has been provided by AXIOM Joint Venture, a collaboration between Amentum, Assystem, and Mott MacDonald, which forms part of the Design Services Alliance, delivering design solutions for Sellafield Ltd.
The investment will help the two UTC Warrington teams- Technically Wired and Wired Technically – to purchase key equipment including motors, sensors, cameras, tools and raw materials needed to further design, build and test their competition robots.
The students competed in the regional competition in Liverpool on 7 March, where for the second year in a row, they secured a place at the national finals in London, and the opportunity to ultimately progress to the global competition. After a clean sweep at the regional final, where both teams qualified to represent the North West.
Technically Wired were crowned overall winners. In fact, the achievements of the UTC teams were threefold:
- Technically Wired were crowned the overall North west Champions.
- Technically Wired also won the Inspire Award, which recognises teams that act as strong ambassadors for
FIRST and its values, serve as inspirational role models to others, and remain top contenders across
multiple judged awards. - The second team, Wired Technically, earned the Winning Alliance title, awarded for the best performance
during the competitive matches.
AXOIM’s £1000 sponsorship follows a strong debut year in 2025 for UTC Warrington’s robotics programme. Last year, the student-led team Technically Wired (team number 28908) won the FIRST Tech Challenge UK North West regional tournament as the Winning Alliance and went on to progress to the UK Championships.
“AXIOM JV are really pleased to be supporting initiatives that demonstrate the next generation of engineers and designers. This is what our social value delivery is all about – helping provide opportunities for young people to pursue their passions in STEM.” — Luke Mason-Hobbs, Social Value Lead at AXIOM Joint Venture
“We were blown away by the professionalism and tenacity of UTC Warrington’s Technically Wired team. Their Dragon’s Den style pitch to our teams was sensational and secured AXIOMJV’s commitment to sponsor the robotics team. We’re watching their progress with both anticipation and excitement.” — Tendayi Munyebvu, Programme Director at AXIOM JV
The robotics competitions are organised by FIRST Tech Challenge UK, a programme that empowers young people aged 12–18 with technical knowledge and wider skills needed for careers in STEM.
Teams operate like real engineering groups, designing, building and programming a robot to compete in progressive competitions. Along the way, students develop skills in teamwork, communication, project management, fundraising and engineering.
“We’re incredibly grateful to AXIOM JV for supporting our teams. Being part of Technically Wired is both challenging and exciting – we get to design, build and programme our own robot while working together to solve real engineering problems. It’s an amazing experience that pushes us to think creatively, develop new technical skills and work as a team.” — Hannah A, a member of the Technically Wired robotics team at UTC Warrington
With their latest sponsorship secured, UTC Warrington’s teams are now focused on refining their robots and preparing for the national finals at London’s Copper Box Arena for two days of collaboration, high-octane competition, and celebration. Competing over the two-day event, the students will be up against 80 other teams from around the country. Currently ranked 4th nationally, Technically Wired have their sights set on the world finals in South Korea.
UTC Warrington offers a unique and distinctive technical education for students aged 14–18, combining academic study with specialist engineering and digital pathways, industry-standard equipment and close partnerships with employers. In addition, the UTC was recently awarded CyberFirst Gold status, recognising UTCW as a centre of excellence for cyber. With many of our robotics team studying on our T Level Cybersecurity course, it’s never been a better time to discover your future in digital security! Spaces are filling quickly – if you’re interested in our T Level Cybersecurity course, visit our website and social channels to learn more.
Applications for September 2026 are open: https://utcw.co.uk/apply/
