UK Space Design Challenge and Galatic Challenge

The UK Space Design Challenge is an annual UK-wide competition, leading to a National final and an international version in the summer in the USA. It is styled as an industry simulation, but is designed to promote STEM subjects and careers. 

Aims

Bede's hosts one of the UK Space Design Challenge regional rounds and attracts entries from Independent and State schools, including Blatchington Mill, Hove, Downlands Community School, Hassocks, Riddlesdown, Croydon, St Peter's, Guildford and St Paul's Catholic College, Burgess Hill. The Regional held in November 2018 had to be closed to further entries and we hosted 84 pupils from 8 schools. The UKSDC is open to pupils from Years 10-13 and they will spend an intense day developing a solution to a problem set typically 60 years in the future, in space that they will present to a panel of judges for consideration. Research skills, teamwork, communication, time management and presentation skills all come to the fore and the Maths and science are a vehicle for this, more than that the end solution is technically 'correct'. 

The Galactic Challenge is a spin-off from the UKSDC and was developed by Bede's four years ago but has since been branded by the UKSDC and become a national programme. This is similar to the UKSDC, but for years 5-8 pupils and is designed to be run by schools for schools. Bede's holds an annual Galactic Challenge that attracts large numbers of schools.  In January 2019 we hosted 120 students from 10 schools and over the years we have had a number of State schools involved, including Blatchington Mill, Willingdon and Chailey School. In addition, Bede's went to Blatchington Mill in October 2018 and helped them establish their own Galactic Challenge for eight of their local primary schools.  Bede's is also supporting Riddlesdown to run a Galactic Challenge in March this year.  Described by pupils as "the most fun I have EVER had in a classroom", by teachers as "transformative" and parents as "I had no idea that science could be so much fun", the Galactic Challenge aims to promote STEM to young minds, whilst challenging them to develop a range of soft-skills that they never knew they possessed.

Pupil Involvement

Year 5 - 8 and 10 - 13

Frequency

Annually.  On-going.