Tonbridge School crowned National Champions of the UK Youth Rocketry Challenge
- Team Traffic Cone, from Tonbridge School in Kent won the National Finals of the UK Youth Rocketry Challenge (UK ROC).
- Where Are My Engines, Holt? From Tiffin School, from Kingston Upon Thames, finished runners-up, with KESmonauts, from King Edward’s School, Bath coming third.
- 17 teams of 77 11–18-year-olds from across the UK reached and competed in the National Finals.
Representing their school, three students from Tonbridge School, were crowned National Champions of the UK Youth Rocketry Challenge 2022 after they competed in a national fly-off against teams from across the UK. They will now head to the International Rocketry Challenge finals, held this year at Farnborough International Airshow, and will compete against teams from the US, Japan, and France.
To win the National Final, Team Traffic Cone met the 2022 mission requirements which required each team to design, build and launch a model rocket, with the payload of two raw eggs, returning safely to ground within 44 seconds.
During Farnborough International Airshow, Team Traffic Cone will face the additional challenge of their rocket having to reach at least 835 feet within 44 seconds, measured by an onboard altimeter.
As part of the competition, the teams also presented to the judges on the unique design and build of their rockets, reflecting on the challenges and findings during the test phases, as well as their experience of the UK Youth Rocketry Challenge.
ADS Chief Executive, Kevin Craven said:
“A huge congratulations to Team Traffic Cone, particularly for winning as a team of three, compared to the average team size of six. Throughout the competition the team has excelled and have beaten teams from their region to reach the National Finals using their own ingenious rocket design while facing and solving many challenges along the way.
“UK ROC, supported by industry and sponsored by Lockheed Martin and Reaction Engines, grows year upon year and plays a critical role in encouraging students to consider careers in the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors, which offer high skilled, value and wage jobs in every region of the UK.
“This year’s Rocketry International Finals are being held at Farnborough International Airshow and are the first to take place since 2019. I expect competition to be fierce, and it would be fantastic to see Traffic Cone apply and finesse the skills they have learnt, beat the US, France and Japan and triumph as 2022 International Rocketry Champions.”
Tonbridge School Physics Teacher, Nick Waite said:
“The thrill of flying rockets alongside the challenge of friendly competition is enormously appealing to the pupils.
“This year, the ‘Traffic Cone’ team worked well together and grabbed the chance to stretch what they have learnt in their science lessons to solve real problems. It was great to watch them build and improve their design after every test flight, and to see all their efforts come together in the final with an almost perfect flight.
“The bus ride home after winning the national final was filled with excited chatter about how they might make yet more improvements to their rocket for the international final. They can’t wait to pit their skills against those of other teams from USA, France, and Japan!”