Richard Jorgenson (back row far left) and Julia LaFontaine (back row far right) are shown with second and third grade students from Bedford Academy, who recently won the Challenge Award in the FIRST NH LEGO League competition. Courtesy photo/Bedford Academy

BEDFORD – Students from Bedford Academy, an independent, STEAM-inspired elementary school, recently participated in a series of regional FIRST NH LEGO League events in Manchester and Merrimack.

For the third year, the second and third grade class won the Challenge Award, which brings teams together to solve a problem and showcase their achievements.

In addition, Bedford Academy’s fourth and fifth grade classes competed in the League Challenge competition for the first time. Designed for students in grades four through eight, teams are challenged to build, write code and program Lego robots that are tested in timed missions at the Robot Game table. Bedford Academy’s team scored the maximum number of points and nearly qualified for the state tournament.

“Along with the entire Bedford Academy family, I am greatly impressed with the creativity and energy our students exhibited at the FIRST NH LEGO League events,” said Dr. Roxanne Molina, owner of Bedford Academy. “Our school prioritizes STEAM knowledge and hands-on experiences and we are grateful that FIRST NH offers these unique opportunities for students to hone problem-solving skills while deepening their science and technology expertise.”