Three South African schools have earned top global honours in the Inspired Builds robotics competition, a worldwide STEM challenge that involved 111 schools across 24 countries. Reddam House Bedfordview, Reddford House The Hills and Reddam House Umhlanga all secured category victories for their innovative, student-built robots designed to solve real-world problems.
The annual competition tasks learners with conceptualising, designing and coding working prototypes that respond to community issues. Judges assess creativity, technical design, problem-solving and relevance across age categories. This year’s results place South African students among the most inventive young engineers in the Inspired global network.
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Reddam House Bedfordview Wins with Wildlife Protection Robot
In the 11 to 12 age group, learners Syrus Stoltz (12) and James Birch (11) from Reddam House Bedfordview impressed judges with The Rhino Protector, a camouflaged robot designed to deter poaching.
The prototype uses an ultrasonic sensor, a trip line and an alarm system to detect intruders and trigger alerts. The concept was inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goal focused on Life on Land and by the ongoing poaching threat facing South African wildlife.
The project highlights the team’s understanding of conservation technology and demonstrates how robotics can support anti-poaching initiatives in a practical, low-cost way.
Pretoria Team Builds Litter-Collecting Robot from Scratch
A five-learner team from Reddford House The Hills won their age category with the GCR3000, a robot that collects litter using a movable claw and deposits waste into a bin. The robot was designed to address land pollution, which the students identified as a key challenge at their school and in surrounding areas.
The team strengthened their design and coding skills after an early-stage error forced them to rebuild the robot from scratch. The experience taught them perseverance, teamwork and mechanical problem-solving, all essential skills in robotics.
Their project showed how accessible engineering solutions can address environmental issues while empowering young people to take ownership of their surroundings.
Reddam House Umhlanga Shines with Low-Cost Health Robot
In the same age group, Reddam House Umhlanga Grade 8 learner Sinead Samputh (13) earned a global title for developing Baymin, a low-cost health-assistant robot designed to help children access simple health checks.
Inspired by her volunteer work at a community homework club, Sinead created a hybrid system using Arduino components paired with an EV3 Mindstorms arm. Baymin performs a forehead temperature scan and a short symptom assessment, then uses binary logic to suggest possible conditions in child-friendly language.
The robot demonstrates how affordable technology can support basic health access in under-resourced communities.
A Showcase of African Innovation in STEM
Teachers across the three schools highlighted the competition as an important platform for applied problem-solving and creativity. They also noted how many of the winning ideas were inspired by issues students directly observe, from wildlife protection and pollution to community healthcare. The achievements also reinforce the Inspired Education Group’s commitment to future-focused learning across its 121 schools worldwide. Robotics and coding form core components of its approach to preparing students for an increasingly digital world.
Ravi Nadasen, CEO of Inspired Schools Africa, commended the students, saying their work shows how young people can meaningfully contribute to solving real challenges when given the tools, mentorship and freedom to experiment. South Africa’s strong performance in this global competition underscores the country’s growing role in nurturing the next generation of STEM innovators.
