SCHOOL pupils in Bicester got the chance to test their mettle against scientists from Oxford University.

They were taking part in the third Robot Games event yesterday, which saw students from The Cooper School build a wheeled robot called Darius and race it against a machine from the university.

And with the university’s walking robot called Kondo breaking down before getting to the starting line, it was a walkover for the students.

In the final they came second to a school from London.

Pictured back are Nicole Corfield and Jack Gough, both aged 13, and front from left, Ryan Webb, Jack Massey, Robert Brown, technology teacher Alistair Surrall and Dr Stephen Cameron, tutorial Fellow at Keble College, with Kondo.

Jack said: “It was really good fun and involved lots of teamwork.”

The event is part of Oxford’s computer science department’s outreach activity. Schools liaison officer Suzanna Marsh said: “The Robot Games is all about making computer science fun and accessible as a subject to younger students so they keep it open as an option further down the line.”