Carnarvon robotics teams hold their own at the World Robot Olympiad National Final

Automation Avengers, a Senior RoboMission team from Carnarvon High School, placed 4th nationally at the 2026 World Robot Olympiad (WRO) National Final, the highest result among the Carnarvon teams supported by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRF-SARAO) Human Capital Development (HCD) Schools Programme.

Five Carnarvon teams earned their places at the National Final, held at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria from 11 to 12 September 2026, after their performance at the Northern Cape Regional WRO Competition. They competed alongside qualifying teams from across South Africa in their respective categories, representing Carnarvon Primary School, Carnarvon High School and NRF-SARAO.

National results

Beyond Automation Avengers’ 4th place, the other RoboMission teams also secured competitive national positions: Robo-Titans and Code Crackers each placed 11th, and CTRL + ALT + DEL placed 12th in their respective categories.

Learning through competition

The National Final gave the learners a chance to test themselves against some of the strongest robotics teams in the country. Working as teams, they solved robotics challenges, programmed and operated their robots, and made strategic decisions under competition conditions, applying the skills they have developed through the NRF-SARAO Schools Programme.

The five qualifying teams also reflect the growing strength of robotics in the Carnarvon schools that NRF-SARAO supports.

Programme volunteers on the judging panel

The NRF-SARAO HCD Schools Programme was also represented at the National Final by three robotics volunteers, Thurlo Maritz, Chanté Mathison and Virgillian Kasper, who served as judges at the national competition.

The qualifying teams

• Robo-Legends (Explorer Lite), Carnarvon Primary School
• Robo-Titans (Elementary RoboMission), Carnarvon Primary School
• CTRL + ALT + DEL (Junior RoboMission), Carnarvon High School
• Automation Avengers (Senior RoboMission), Carnarvon High School
• Code Crackers (Senior RoboMission), Carnarvon High School