Help the Jelly Friends get to Massachusetts

We’re the Jelly Friends - and we need your help to get to America!

We’re a group of nine 11-year-olds from Penpol School in Hayle, Cornwall and we’ve just been given some incredible news… we’ve been invited to represent the UK at the FIRST LEGO League International Open in Massachusetts next month!

We’re completely blown away - this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us and we’re so proud to be flying the flag for Cornwall, for Penpol and for the UK. But we can’t get there without your help.

How we found out:

We’ve spent nearly two years working as a team to build and code our LEGO robot, solving real-world problems and even inventing our own StingSafe wristband - a device to let swimmers and surfers know if the jellyfish around them are safe to swim with or not. We’ve learned loads about engineering, programming and teamwork - and we’ve had so much fun along the way.

Now, we’ve got the chance to travel all the way to the USA and compete against teams from all around the world. But getting there isn’t cheap - and that’s where we hope you might come in.

What we need:

We’re raising money to cover flights, hotels, competition fees, transport for our robot and kit - everything we need to make this dream trip possible. Your donation, however big or small, will make a huge difference.

Why it matters:

Two years ago, our friends the Pumpkin Pumpkins made this very same journey - and they came back absolutely buzzing with confidence, inspiration and stories they’ll never forget. We’ve been dreaming of following in their footsteps ever since and we’ve been working incredibly hard, putting in over a thousand hours between us. We mostly did this during our lunch breaks and after-school clubs. Unbelievably, our dream might finally come true!

As with the Pumpkins, this isn’t just about us. It’s about putting Cornwall on the map, celebrating the power of STEM education and showing young people everywhere that if you work hard and believe in yourself, incredible things can happen - even if you come from a small primary school in the far corner of the country.

Please support us if you can - by donating, by sharing this page or just by cheering us on. We’ll be forever grateful.

You can learn more about what we've been doing and our plans for the competition here .

Thank you from all of us,

Jelly Friends and Penpol School

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