'A genuine thrill for all of us' - Telford students secure 'ticket to Antarctica' as school joins polar research project
Students at a Telford secondary school have secured a 'ticket to Antarctica' and will play a part in seeing a digital time capsule delivered to the edge of the world.
Hadley Learning Community (HLC) has signed up to the Ticket to Antarctica project, which will see the school's name added to the side of one of the search planes carried aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough vessel.
It is not the first time students have seen their school's name take part in a major scientific mission - as earlier this year, it was added to the Artemis mission capsule 'Integrity', which is due to orbit the Moon early next year.
Everyone at the Telford school is excited to be involved in the British Antarctic Survey programme, which will send a digital time capsule to the Rothera Research Station in Antarctica aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough.
Natalie Stewart, STEM co-ordinator and subject leader for computing and IT at the school, said: "We are all so excited to be joining such adventurous projects and we’re looking forward to regular updates from both teams as the carry out their missions.
"At HLC, we are committed to giving our students as many enriching and engaging experiences in all kinds of subjects, and the opportunity to follow these amazing expeditions is a genuine thrill for all of us.
"We will be receiving weekly email updates and postcards from the journey allowing our students to follow the scientists and their work.
"The project aims to inspire and educate the public, particularly children, about polar research and the importance of Antarctica."
HLC’s recent links with NASA have been equally exciting. Two students attended a NASA Space Camp in the United States earlier this summer as part of preparations for the upcoming moon mission.
Harry Yeung and Esmae-Hope Morton, who were both in Year 8 at the time, spent six days in Huntsville, Alabama, thanks to an innovative STEM programme.
Natalie Stewart accompanied the students as they took part in the Blue Skies Programme, run by the Jon Egging Trust (JET), which supports young people through STEM and aerospace initiatives.
"The programme is a three-year STEM-inspired syllabus which provides young people who face barriers to learning with long-term support and access to inspirational teams and individuals," she added.
"The aim is to boost their confidence, academic engagement, aspiration and work-readiness."
