Shropshire Star

Primary teacher thought school's missing weather balloon was a 'lost cause' - until a 'kind of miracle'

Pupils and staff alike at a Shropshire primary school are celebrating locating a missing weather balloon that was lost just moments after launch.

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In 2023, a Year Four pupil at Gobowen Primary School asked his then teacher, Mrs Cameron, if the school could launch a weather balloon - like one he'd seen on the internet.

After looking into it, the pupil and Mrs Cameron approached the headteacher of the village primary school with a comprehensive plan and got the go-ahead. 

The kit was ordered from Germany, permission was sought from the Civil Aviation Authority and a date was arranged - but bad weather put the plans on hold.

The weather balloon before launch
The weather balloon before launch

Several attempts were made to launch the balloon over the next two years but the weather was not on the school's side. 

Eventually, on Wednesday this week (June 18) the balloon was successfully launched - along with a little Lego weather balloon-rider named Dan.

Dan, the weather balloon-riding Lego mascot
Dan, the weather balloon-riding Lego mascot

Mrs Cameron explained: "For a primary school, it was a big investment for us. To see it launch was absolutely incredible. 

"We'd tried to launch so many times, invited the community in to see it and had to cancel. It was a great moment.

"The atmosphere was electric. From nursery to Year Six, every child was willing this launch to be a success. 

"The whole school, every child, ran into the centre of the field to watch the balloon go."

But the excitement was short-lived for the staff, who quickly realised there was a problem - the tracking device had failed. 

"We could still see it with our eyes but we'd lost signal with it and it didn't come back on," the teacher said.

The balloon at launch on Wednesday
The balloon at launch on Wednesday

The weather balloon was supposed to travel for two hours and land in Derbyshire so, not wanting to disappoint the children, Mrs Cameron and the headteacher set off to try and find it. 

"We were climbing through hedges and fields in Derbyshire looking for it but it had just disappeared," Mrs Cameron said.

"To come back to school and tell the children that we hadn't found it was heartbreaking. We told them we would do all we could - but I thought it was a lost cause.

"The anticipation after the launch for the recovery had consumed all children, with reception age children asking 'is that plane looking for our balloon?' and 'if it's never ever found, where could it be?'"

But on Thursday afternoon there was a break in the case - the tracker turned back on. The weather balloon was still in one piece, having landed in a quarry in Nottingham.

"It was like some kind of miracle. I phoned the company that owned the quarry and they sent someone out to collect it," Margaret said.

"They phoned me back to say they'd got it and it was all in one piece. I ran around the school this afternoon telling everyone. 

"We've got some very happy children." 

All being well, the balloon will have recorded a continuous video of the journey, along with information including air pressure, temperature and wind direction, which the school will analyse and condense into child-friendly information.

Mrs Cameron added: "It's about showing the children 'real science'. Every day people are using this kind of science gathering all this tiny data to make such a difference in the world. 

"This information will help build an incredible picture of the world the children live in."