• The UK Youth Rocketry Champions, Ampleforth College Rocket Club, have won the international edition of the competition, marking the UK’s second consecutive victory. 
  • The competition, held at Farnborough International Airshow, took place between France, Japan, the UK and the US  
  • The competition is strongly supported by the aerospace and defence industry as a part of combatting the significant skills shortages they face. 

Farnborough International Airshow (26 July 2024) – A team of students from Ampleforth College in Yorkshire has beaten teams from Japan, the USA and France to add the title of International Youth Rocketry Champions to their status at the UK Champions. 

The UK’s participation in the competition is facilitated by ADS, the trade association for the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors, to support STEM engagement in schools. A team from each country is tasked with designing, building and launching a model rocket to carry a fragile payload: a raw egg. 

The UK competition, and the UK’s participation in the international final, is sponsored by Airbus and Lockheed Martin. This is a prime example of industry giving their support to creating the next generation of STEM professionals. 

Skills shortages in STEM are a serious challenge for the UK economy, with the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors consistently reporting over 10,000 vacancies across their businesses. Furthermore, a July 2024 survey of ADS members found that recruitment is the area that the joint highest proportion of businesses plan to invest in or have already invested in across 2024. 

The event took place as part of Farnborough International Airshow’s Pioneers of Tomorrow, a day of the prestigious airshow dedicated to STEM-focused events designed to inspire and engage the next generation of aerospace leaders.   

Kevin Craven, CEO of ADS said: 

“Congratulations to Ampleforth College Rocket Club on their amazing victory, the second year in a row as international champions for the UK. The UK Youth Rocketry and International Youth Rocketry Challenges are fantastic examples of how our sectors are committed to encouraging young people across the UK into STEM careers. We touch more than 5000 young people globally with the Rocketry Competition and it is desperately important as our sectors continue to face significant skills shortages that hold back our ability to provide high skill, high productivity jobs for the economy. That is a challenge industry cannot solve alone, despite great initiatives like this. We must have partnership and adequate support from Government to unlock our full economic potential.” 

Matt Archer, Launch Director at the UK Space Agency, said: 

“As we countdown to the first vertical rocket launch from UK soil later this year, it is more important than ever for the whole of the space industry to be proactive in our support for the next generation of STEM professionals. A strong pipeline of talent is vital for our plans to grow this sector, and competitions like this play a significant role in giving students the chance to learn and to showcase their skills and ideas. Congratulations to Ampleforth College Rocket Club on becoming international champions.”