MSP Helps Students Power Up for Robotics Success

Students at Duchess’s Community High School (DCHS) in Alnwick are buzzing with excitement after receiving a brand-new, state of the art robotics kit worth over £650 giving them the chance to level the playing field and compete on equal footing with schools across the North East—and beyond.

BOOST, a local charity dedicated to advancing learning opportunities for students attending DCHS, reached out to Metrology Software Products Ltd (MSP) for sponsorship and MSP, a leading tech company known for its manufacturing accuracy software used in industries such as aerospace and motorsport, eagerly stepped in to help inspire the next generation of innovators.

The new kit will be used by the school’s VEX Robotics Club, where students design, build, and programme robots to solve real-world engineering challenges. With the next competition scheduled for 2026, this upgrade couldn’t have come at a better time.

Last year, DCHS students faced a significant hurdle, using outdated equipment while most other schools had already upgraded. At the last VEX IQ competition, 20 out of 24 teams were using the newer Generation 2 kit, which offers more advanced features and design flexibility.

“This new kit is a game-changer for our young people,” Jacob Adams, IT teacher and Robotix club leader said; “They’ll be able to build smarter, more complex robots and finally compete on a level playing field with other teams. That boost in confidence and capability makes a huge difference, especially for students living in rural Northumberland, where accessing the same opportunities as those in bigger towns or cites isn’t always easy. Building strong local partnerships like this helps us overcome those challenges and makes our whole community stronger.”