John Baron MP encourages schools to go sky high with national rocketry competition

MP says Basildon students could be the next generation of rocket scientists

MP for Basildon and Billericay, John Baron is encouraging local schools to compete in the UK’s largest youth model rocket competition – The UK Rocketry Challenge.

The UK Rocketry Challenge involves the design, build and launch of a model rocket with the aim of ensuring the passenger – one raw egg – remains intact throughout the launch and landing. The rocket must reach 775 feet with specific target flight duration of 41-43 seconds. Rules governing the competition are altered every year to ensure designs can’t be repeated.

The national final champions win an all-expenses paid trip to Paris, to represent the UK in a fly off against teams from the USA, Japan and France at the Paris International Airshow in June 2017.

Past success for schools in the Rocketry Challenge include James Hornsby School of Laindon, which won the UK Rocketry Challenge in 2015 and competed in the International Rocketry Challenge in Paris against the French and USA teams.

John said,

“The UK Rocketry Challenge provides students with a unique opportunity to apply what they have learnt in science, technology, engineering and maths and gain highly valued skills, whilst also having a lot of fun. I hope local schools in Basildon and Billericay take part in the competition and I look forward to supporting them as they reach for the sky.”