ALTON Convent School pupils have had experience that was out of this world thanks to a visit from space scientists Christine and David Brockley-Blatt, from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory.

Tailored sessions were delivered to the different age groups, from Year 5 up to the school’s sixth form. And the pupils were fascinated to learn about the range of career possibilities within the space industry and gained a captivating insight into Christine’s current international project – the Solar Orbiter Mission.

Christine emphasised the importance of all aspects of the curriculum to her work, particularly due to the international nature of her role.

The feedback was resoundingly effusive, with one Year 5 pupil saying: “It was fantastic. I didn’t know that an engineer could do all that.”

The space age experience has extended further down the school with children in reception year preparing to become space biologists and embark on a voyage of discovery by growing seeds that have been into space.

In September, two kilos of rocket seeds were flown to the International Space Station on Soyuz 44S where they will spend several months in microgravity before returning to Earth next March. The seeds have been sent as part of Rocket Science, an educational project launched by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and the UK Space Agency.

Pupils will grow the seeds alongside others that haven’t been to space and measure the differences over seven weeks. The students won’t know which seed packet contains which seeds until results from all participating schools have been analysed by professional bio-statisticians.

The out-of-this-world, nationwide science experiment will enable the students to think more about how we could preserve human life on another planet in the future, what astronauts need to survive long-term missions in space, and the difficulties surrounding growing fresh food in challenging climates.

Alton Convent School pupils benefit from a flourishing science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) outreach programme, which has resulted in five national award winners and five South East England regional champions in 2015 alone.

Students also have access to inspirational speakers.

Recognised STEM programs are integrated into the curriculum across the prep school, from age three onwards, and further opportunities continue in the senior school including participation in a Global STEM mentoring network.

Rocket Science is just one educational project from a programme developed by the UK Space Agency to celebrate British astronaut Tim Peake’s principial mission to the International Space Station and inspire young people to look into careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.