VEX Worlds 2026

At Kinsale Community School, four VEX Robotics teams are set to travel to the VEX VRC World Championships in St. Louis from April 21st–24th. In total, 14 students, four robots/teams and three teachers will represent the school at the event. 

The students travelling are Joshua Smyth, Alex Smyth, Peter Leahy, Conor Galvin, Oscar Green, Grace Kelleher, Faiz Zakri, Dylan Sadler, Fintan Tuohy, Liam Riordan, Eoin Condon, Amelie Zerwes, Mara Siefert and Aisling Lynch. 

The robotics programme is run by Assistant Principal Eddie Farren and TY Coordinator Niamh Hay. 

During the 2025–2026 VEX Robotics season, students at Kinsale Community School have worked steadily to develop their robots, programming, and teamwork skills. From the early stages of the year, teams have spent many hours designing, testing, and improving their machines while competing in events across Ireland. 

By the time the VEX Robotics Ireland National Championships took place at Munster Technological University, Kinsale Community School had four strong teams competing: 81785B, 81785C, 81785G and 81785K. 

Team 81785G won the Tournament Championship and the Excellence Award, while team 81785C earned the Design Award. Teams 81785B and 81785K also performed strongly, reaching the Tournament Finals. 

These results mean that all four Kinsale teams have qualified for the VEX Robotics World Championships in St. Louis, USA. In total, seven teams from Ireland will attend the event, with Kinsale Community School representing more than half of the national qualifiers. 

This achievement reflects the steady development of robotics in the school over a number of years. Since the programme began in 2017, over 300 students have taken part in robotics at Kinsale Community School. Across that time, more than 90 students have had the opportunity to travel to the VEX World Championships. Many past students have also gone on to pursue STEM-related courses and careers, influenced by their experience in the programme. 

Over this period, Kinsale Community School teams have consistently achieved success at national level, winning Ireland’s Excellence Award and Tournament Champion titles across multiple seasons since 2017. The school has also earned several awards at the World Championships. Building on this experience, this year’s teams are aiming to perform strongly again and compete for top awards. 

The introduction of the Junior Cycle Robotics Short Course has strengthened this further by giving students the opportunity to learn robotics as part of their regular timetable. Alongside this, the lunchtime robotics club continues to provide additional time for students to develop their ideas, test designs, and prepare for competitions. 

Senior students also play an important role in supporting younger students and working with local primary schools through VEX IQ activities. This helps to build skills across the programme and encourages interest in robotics from an early stage. 

IVEXt has been a very positive season for the students, reflecting months of effort, teamwork, and support from the wider school community as they prepare to represent their school and Ireland on the world stage.