Offaly schools enjoy success in FIRST LEGO League regional final

IN A thrilling display of robotics and ingenuity, team ‘Oversimplified’ from Portlaoise College triumphed at the FIRST LEGO League Regional Final held at the LOETB Offices.

Showcasing world-class problem-solving and technical prowess, the Portlaoise students captured the title of Regional Champions after a high-stakes competition. Their victory officially secures their place to represent the region at the prestigious Ireland National Final this March, where they will lead the charge against the country’s top young innovators.

The winner’s podium celebrated a remarkable breadth of talent from across Laois and Offaly, reflecting the high standard of STEM excellence in local schools. Alongside ‘Oversimplified’ - who also dominated the leaderboard to win the Robot Game - Dunamase College secured the Innovation Project Award for their creative solution to real-world challenges. The ‘Sand Toddlers’ from Tullamore College exhibited masterful engineering to claim the Robot Design Award, while ‘Heritage Hunters 2’ from Coláiste Naomh Cormac were honoured with the Core Values Award for demonstrating the true spirit of teamwork and professional courtesy.

One of Ireland’s most successful and long-running STEM education, FIRST® LEGO® League invites children and young people to take part in an exciting blend of research, creativity and robotics.

Now celebrating its 10th year in Ireland, more than 35,000 young people have taken part since the programme first launched here. Its hands-on learning approach not only builds technical skills, organisers say, but helps young people use technology meaningfully, encouraging independent thinking, clearer communication, and creative problem-solving rooted in real-world challenges.

Teams, supported by an adult coach, design and build LEGO® robots while tackling themed missions. Using coding, engineering skills, and plenty of teamwork, they explore ideas that could shape the future.

This year’s theme, UNEARTHED℠, invites teams to dig into the past - uncovering hidden treasures, mysterious artefacts, and forgotten stories. Curiosity and team spirit are the keys to success, says Ross Maguire, Chief Impact Officer at Creative Hut, which co-ordinates FIRST® LEGO® League in Ireland.

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“Teachers and all of us involved find it a joy to see how this initiative helps make STEM

simpler and more inclusive. From brainstorming solutions to building models, the

young people seamlessly experience STEM in action, and have real fun in the process”.

The programme is supported for the fifth year by the Research Ireland Discover Programme. Dr Ruth Freeman, Director of Research for Society at Research Ireland, says the initiative aligns strongly with their mission to widen participation in STEM.
“Teaching teamwork, design and programming skills, based around childhood LEGO building bricks is inspired. Science and technical skills can be fun and engaging, and the secret for educators is to find the fun and games, and the story-telling and puzzles, to awaken young people’s minds to the enjoyment and fascination of science”.

This Regional is sponsored and supported by LOETB. National sponsorship is proudly provided by Amazon.

The top team from this year’s FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge will represent Ireland

at the European FLL Championships in summer 2026.

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