Overcoming learning barriers as pupils take on space rocket design mission

As two organisations dedicated to helping young people to achieve, the University of Portsmouth and the John Egging Trust have devised and delivered three STEM based activity days on campus with three local schools, as part of the Trust’s ‘Blue Skies Programme’.

Taking inspiration from the Joint Universities Programme for In-Orbit Training, Education and Research (JUPITER), a total of 45 young people from the schools were tasked with designing a model rocket using the University’s ‘Space Mission Incubator’ (a unique mission design service, inspired by NASA JPL).

The pupils - from Miltoncross Academy and Trafalgar School in Portsmouth, and Park Community School in Havant - then went on to build the pressurised water rockets they had designed, before testing them in Ravelin Park.

Jeremy Thomas, Outreach and Public Engagement Fellow from the University’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, said: “The John Egging Trust is providing a really well structured and valuable programme of personal development for young people and it is an honour to be one of their partner organisations. It’s been a great team effort to put the workshops together, with colleagues in both academic and support roles across the campus helping with the logistics and delivery.”

The young people taking part in the workshops were also given the opportunity to experience the cutting-edge digital media facilities in the University’s Centre for Creative and Immersive eXtended Reality (CCIXR). 

Thanking the University for providing such a positive and impactful experience, Mandy Linehan, the John Egging Trust’s Youth Liaison Officer for Hampshire, said: “What a fantastic experience the students had. The workshop was expertly planned, and the staff went above and beyond to support the students.

“The students gained a real insight into the space industry and learnt valuable skills in teamwork, confidence-building and communication, by working closely with experienced staff and University students who guided, encouraged and motivated them throughout the day.”

The ‘Blue Skies’ programme is a long-term, three-year programme which supports young people facing adversity in developing aspirations and social and emotional skills, re-engaging with learning, improving their grades and maximising their employment potential.

The Institute of Cosmology’s Outreach and Public Engagement Team plans to continue to support the Blue Skies Programme locally, either with new groups each year or through more advanced workshops with the existing groups. 

The workshops highlight the University’s role in the global space industry.  The University is home to a Mission Design facility to help people design spacecraft and missions, ASTA Technology - the UK’s only ESA-accredited provider of space engineering training - and is a founding partner of Space South Central.

It is also developing plans for a Portsmouth Research Institute for Space Missions (PRISM) which will bring all its space activity under one roof, including mission design, and will be closely connected to the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG).

Working with partners in the local area in this way serves to underpin the University’s ambition to establish its position as a Civic University -  promoting inclusion and enriching economic, social and cultural life across Portsmouth and the wider region.