A TEAM from Kingdown School in Warminster has triumphed in the south west regional final of the fifth annual Raytheon Quadcopter Challenge.

The school will now go on to defend the national title that one of its teams won last year.

Pupils from St Augustine's Catholic College in Trowbridge and Kingdown School competed at the CAST S army base in Warminster for a place in the grand final in November.

More than 80 teams of pupils and cadets took part in the UK-wide challenge, which teaches pupils how to build a fully-functioning, four-bladed, multi-rotor, remotely-piloted quadcopter.

Pupils then compete in a series of challenging flying tasks that test skills including accuracy, innovation and agility.

Each UK region was assigned a different country around which to theme their quadcopters. Team members gave a 10-minute presentation to explain their design process and how they managed their project.

The south west teams taking part included one from St Augustine's Catholic College and three teams from Kingdown School, one of which was crowned the south west winner.

Kingdown School are last year’s national champions and will now go on to defend their title at the grand final at RAF Cosford Museum.

David Leater, teacher at Kingdown school said: “I’m very proud that Kingdown students have succeeded in retaining their south west crown in a tense, hard-fought day at Warminster with Raytheon.

“The STEM Quadcopter Challenge is an excellent way of engaging and developing our next generation of young engineers – a great competition for all involved and again really enjoyed by all involved. A big thank you to Raytheon."

Raytheon STEM ambassadors mentored the teams throughout the competition, visiting schools, hosting workshops and guiding pupils on how to improve the aerodynamics and control of the quadcopters.

Raytheon’s Warminster STEM lead, Stephen Johnson added: “Congratulations to Kingdown School, and to all who took part.

“Like many other STEM ambassadors, I got involved to inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists, mathematicians and teachers.

“It’s fantastic how this competition has grown from a pilot in Essex to a national competition with more than 400 students taking part each year.

“Events like this are so important to encourage young people to take part and learn new skills, and to have the opportunity ask questions about future careers and jobs within the STEM field.”