- "Aiming for excellence, developing the individual"
- — The Dartford Girls Grammar School motto
Dartford Girls Grammar was the name given to the team of roboteers who competed in the original run of Robot Wars with the competitor robots Detonator, Napalm and Shadow of Napalm respectively. The team fought in the first five series of the main UK version, along with the first series of Robot Wars Extreme, making them one of the longest-appearing teams to debut in Series 1.
Despite having a reputation for entering fragile and inoffensive robots, the team enjoyed good performances throughout their appearances, with Napalm reaching the Semi-Finals in Series 2 and the Heat Final in Series 3. In five UK Series attempts, Dartford Girls Grammar were never eliminated in the Heat Gauntlet stage or the first round of the purely combat-based format introduced from Series 3 onwards.
In Series 1, the team called themselves The Femme Fatale.
The Team[]
- "I found a note in my pigeon hole at school which referred to the first series. I got a group of girls together and we designed 'Detonator' over a lunchtime session, produced a proposal diagram and shipped it out to Mentorn."
- — David Crosby on entering Robot Wars.[1]
The crest of Dartford Girls Grammar
Team Banner from Series 5/Extreme 1
Named for the private school from which the team originated (The Dartford Grammar School for Girls), the team comprised of teacher David Crosby and a number of his students. The main students (Clare Greenaway and Vicki Allgood) remained in the team throughout Robot Wars, as opposed to Crosby bringing on new students each year.
The core Dartford team was David Crosby and Clare Greenaway, with Victoria Allgood as the most common third member. During Extreme 1 and Series 1, David Crosby appeared in every fight whilst Vicki Allgood, Tegan Crosby, Michelle Davey and Clare Greenaway all rotated depending on availability. However, the scoreboards always credited Crosby, Allgood and Greenaway in Extreme 1.
Team Members[]
David Crosby and Tegan Crosby[]
David Crosby was the captain of the Dartford Girls Grammar team. He was the only person to appear in the team in every single battle. Crosby was the head technology teacher at Dartford Girls Grammar and teacher of Greenaway, Allgood, Glenn and Davey.
The team in Series 1
The team in Series 3
Crosby began the show as a very hands-off teacher; whilst he bore a large part of the responsibility for Detonator's and Napalm's maintenance, the driving and interviews with Philippa Forrester, Jeremy Clarkson and Craig Charles he left to Clare Greenaway. Crosby was famously jittery and animated during battles. He was visibly agitated during Detonator's Gauntlet run and even left the pits to rush to Greenaway and Allgood's side during the Trial. It was not uncommon for Crosby to take over driving or even reach over Greenaway's shoulders to help during a fight. He drove Napalm in Series 3 and Shadow of Napalm in Series 4.
David Crosby and pupils with Napalm 2
Crosby was highly excitable during Napalm's victories and took its defeats in good humour. He was also self-effacing, calling Shadow of Napalm a bad robot and noting that he wished Greenaway had been driving.
By Series 5, David Crosby was the Head of Technology at Dover Grammar School for Boys. However, he remained in contact with the Dartford girls and the team continued to compete regardless.
- "He came to Dover Grammar School in April last year and is planning to launch a Robot Wars club at the school, where he would like to get the boys involved in building a second robot for the programme."
- — Article in Mercury, 2002[2]
The team in the War of Independence
For Series 6, David Crosby conceptualised a new heavyweight robot named Skull and Crossguns[3], with inspiration from the song "Stand and Deliver" by Adam Ant, and the team planned to wear highwayman-style costumes to go with their robot. It is unknown if the robot was completed in time for qualification.
- "We have a new team member, Tegan, who is going to attempt to drive the machine, and we've brought Clare back, from the Napalm team. We've lost Vicki, who's gone on holiday..."
- — David Crosby on the team in the War of Independence
David's daughter Tegan joined the team to replace Vicki Allgood during Detonator's appearance in the War for Independence at the end of Series 4. Crosby said she would be driving the robot, however he ultimately drove the robot in the fight against frenZy. Tegan also appeared in some fights during Extreme 1, such as the Mayhem qualifier.
Clare Greenaway[]
Clare Greenaway was the most prominent of all the Dartford students and did most of the interviews with Philippa Forrester and Jeremy Clarkson. She was the driver of Detonator in Series 1 and Napalm in Series 2 and was fifteen during The First Wars.
Clare Greenaway and David Crosby work on Detonator
The team with Shadow of Napalm
Greenaway was notable in being the only female roboteer to complete the Gauntlet, doing so on her third attempt during Napalm's Semi-Final appearance. She also drove Napalm during its Pinball attempt - where its Series 2 campaign was cut short by a controversy involving the producers giving Mortis a re-run - as well as the subsequent Judgement Day Grudge Match against the Random Violence Technologies machine. After being left visibly upset following Napalm's elimination, she and Rob Knight made amends at the conclusion of the Judgement Day battle, during which she accidentally reversed Napalm into the pit. Like Crosby, Greenaway took Napalm's faults in good humour.
Greenaway left the team around the time of Series 5 to travel to Africa on a World Challenge Expedition. She appeared during Extreme 1 but remained mostly in the background, though she continued to be credited as team member in her absences.
Victoria Allgood[]
The team in Extreme 1
Victoria "Vicki" Allgood was also fifteen during Series 1 and appeared on the Detonator team. She missed Series 2 and returned in Series 3, remaining with the team until Napalm's eventual retirement. She did miss the War of Independence and had her role filled by Tegan Crosby. During Extreme 1 and Series 5, she began driving Napalm during the fights with Warhog and Wild Thing. She was the only team member still at Dartford during Series 5, as Crosby had moved to Dover and Davey and Greenaway had both graduated.
Rebecca Glenn and Michelle Davey[]
The team in Series 5
Rebecca Glenn and Michelle Davey rounded out Napalm's team. Glenn replaced Allgood in Series 2, during which Napalm reached the Semi-Finals. Davey rotated through the team in Series 5 and Extreme 1. Davey, however, was not a current student during this time and was working for Bank of Scotland.
Robots[]
| Name | Weight Class | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Detonator | Heavyweight | Series 1, 4 |
| Napalm | Heavyweight | Series 2-3, Extreme 1 |
| Shadow of Napalm | Heavyweight | Series 4 |
| Napalm 2 | Heavyweight | Extreme 1, Series 5 |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 8
- Losses: 8
Series Record[]
| Main Series | Dartford Girls Grammar Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Heat, Trial with Detonator |
| The Second Wars | Semi Finals, Trial with Napalm |
| The Third Wars | Heat Final with Napalm |
| The Fourth Wars | Heat, Round 2 with Shadow of Napalm War of Independence, Round 1 with Detonator |
| The Fifth Wars | Heat, Round 2 with Napalm 2 |
| The Sixth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Seventh Wars | Did not enter |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
| Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
| Series 1 | Entered with Napalm and Napalm 2 |
| Series 2 | Did not enter |
Outside Robot Wars[]
Although the original team members of Dartford Girls Grammar are no longer active in robots, the school gave its permission to Reira Grainger, captain of Team Trans-Cendant Robotics, to continue the legacy of their Robot Wars machines at the featherweight scale with a replica of Napalm and a planned equivalent for Detonator. For more information, see here.
Trivia[]
- With losses in their Series 1 Heat and Series 2 Semi-Final, Dartford Girls Grammar had been eliminated at the Trial stages more often than any other competing team.
- The team made a cameo appearance in the Extreme Warriors: Season 1/War of Independence.
References[]
External Links[]
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