Gosport pupils learn about space and aircrafts

Year 7 pupils at Bay House School, in Gosport, spent the day with representatives from HMS Sultan, the Royal Air Force and the University of Portsmouth.

The activities looked at subjects ranging from air engineering to the stars.

Pupil Maddy Ward, 12, said she enjoyed the survival workshop which showed different inflatables that are used by pilots and passengers if a plane gets into difficulty.

She said: ‘We learned about lots of really interesting stuff and the science behind aircraft and rockets.

‘I liked learning about the survival kits.

‘It was a good day for the school to organise.’

Fellow Year 7 pupil Lucy Stokes added: ‘I liked making and launching the rockets, but I also found it interesting to see how planes are made.’

Representatives from HMS Sultan brought along a simulation of an aircraft control system, including the black boxes which record data.

The pupils were shown how to remove the black boxes and replace pieces of equipment.

The University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation also took part.

They brought along a simulator to show the night sky above Portsmouth.

Andrew Cook, from the university, said: ‘We can show the students what the sky will look like tonight and all the different constellations. They seem to enjoy it.’

Carole Terry from Bay House helped organised the day. She said: ‘We used Tim Peake as inspiration.

‘The pupils really enjoyed all the different workshops and they had some incredible questions about what they were learning.’