Our Year 8 students recently embarked on an out-of-this-world adventure thanks to a visit from the Smallpeice Trust, taking part in an exciting STEM day titled “Road to RIOT: Blast Off!”

For the day, the classroom transformed into a buzzing mission control as students became teams of designers, aerospace engineers, landing gear specialists, and marketing executives. Their challenge? To plan a bold new planetary research expedition to a newly discovered world and design a lander capable of safely arriving on Mars.

Working in teams, students explored the real-world problems faced by space agencies, from protecting delicate scientific equipment during landing to creating eye-catching branding to “sell” their mission to potential sponsors. They sketched designs, tested ideas, solved engineering challenges, and presented their final concepts with confidence and creativity.

The day was packed with teamwork, problem-solving, and plenty of “aha!” moments as students discovered how science, technology, engineering, and maths come together in real careers. Most importantly, it sparked curiosity and showed just how exciting a future in STEM can be.

A huge thank you to the Smallpeice Trust for inspiring our young engineers and helping our Year 8 students truly blast off on their road to RIOT! 🌍✨