John Baron MP visits James Hornsby Students following their Paris success in the International Rocketry Final

John with the team including Science teacher Matt Piggott and Headteacher Jason Carey

MP to host team in Parliament

John Baron MP has joined Teachers and Students at The James Hornsby School, Laindon to congratulate them on winning the UK leg of the National Rocketry Competition. The students then came second in the International Rocketry Fly-Off competition at the Paris Airshow, beating contenders from France amongst others.

Joe Cox 13, Tyler Sharp 14, David Thai 14, Hollie Wollaston14 and Hannah Platts 14, led by their Science Teacher Matt Piggott, spent five months designing, constructing and testing their rocket. They will be entering the competition again next year.

John said:

“This was a fantastic achievement. The whole team should be very proud especially as they were the youngest team competing by an average of three years. To have beaten literally hundreds of teams from across the world is testimony to their ingenuity.”

“The team will be joining me in Parliament for a celebration. In addition, to help the team in next year’s competition the Fun Walk Trust will be making a donation of £250.”

Jason Carey, Headteacher said:

“We are incredibly proud of the students’ achievements. The whole experience has opened up some amazing opportunities for them too, from receiving invitations to The House of Commons, to meeting astronauts in Paris! Well done indeed! And thank you to our fantastic science teacher Matt Piggott and the Gardner Aerospace staff for making this happen.”