At an event at the House of Commons, around 30 MPs were encouraged to engage schools in their constituency with the UK Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKRoC) – the UK’s largest youth model rocket competition, now in its 11th year.
The MPs, including James Gray MP for North Wiltshire, and Alex Chalk MP for Cheltenham, were joined by students from Abbeyfield School and James Hornby School of Essex, who demonstrated their winning rockets from previous competitions. Both schools have been UK champions, with Abbeyfield securing second place this year in the International Rocketry competition.
Paul Everitt, Chief Executive of ADS Group said “If the UK is to succeed in tough global markets we need more young people equipped and excited by today and tomorrow’s great engineering challenges. It is fantastic to see MPs supporting the launch of the UK Aerospace Youth Rocketry Challenge. Working with schools the competition is a creative way to put science, technology, engineering and maths to practical use.”
“The South West needs more entrants – this is a fantastic opportunity for young people from across the region, with the chance to win a trip to Paris to compete internationally against the USA, France and Japan.”
The aerospace and space industries collectively employ 162,000 people across the UK, at companies such as Airbus, BAE Systems, GKN, Lockheed Martin, MBDA and Rolls Royce. UKRoC is a great introduction to the skills used by many of these organisations which provide high-value careers.
