At John Lyon, there’s a wide choice of extra-curricular activities for pupils to get involved in. There is truly an activity for every interest and our Robotics provision, part of the School’s STEAM programme, is popular amongst both boys and girls across different year groups.

Our teams regularly take part in the VEX Robotics Competitions, competing against other schools and putting their creative and technical skills to the test. Opportunities like this give pupils the chance to explore new interests, develop confidence and enjoy learning beyond the classroom.

Tina (Year 8) a member of the JLS Vortex Robotics Team reflects on John Lyon’s first Robotics competition of the year.

“On Saturday 11 October, two John Lyon Robotics teams travelled to Greig City Academy in East London to compete in their first VEX Robotics Competition of the 2025–2026 season. This year’s challenge was to design and program a robot capable of stacking coloured pins to score points — a task that required precision, strategy and teamwork.

During the competition, both John Lyon teams demonstrated incredible dedication, resilience and enthusiasm throughout the day, even when faced with technical setbacks and tough competition. Their commitment to learning and improving was evident in every match they played.

Team 33363C, known as Block Bots, made up of Year 9 pupils Aarush, Aarvick and Arhaant showed great promise and teamwork, finishing 15th in their qualification matches. Though they narrowly missed out on a place in the finals, their incredible efforts have only made them more determined to success in the upcoming competitions ahead in this academic year.

The second team, 33363B, named JLS Vortex, includes Year 9 pupil Rian and Year 8 pupils Amit and Tina. They had an impressive run, showing great preparation and strategic thinking, which helped them finish 3rd in the qualification matches and advance to the finals, where they secured 4th place overall.” – Tina, Y8.

John Lyon is incredibly proud of both teams’ hard work, sportsmanship and perseverance at this first event. Competition season has just begun, and our teams remain optimistic and focussed. With another competition scheduled after the half-term break, there is strong hope for a qualifying result for the National Championships soon.