On Tuesday 28 April, two Rocketry Teams comprising 12 Lower Sixth students from Westcliff High School for Boys took part in the South East regional round of the UK Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKRoC).

Aimed at students aged 11–18 from secondary schools, colleges, educational institutions and youth groups, this prestigious competition invites teams to design, build, and launch a model rocket carrying a fragile payload. The competition is designed to encourage creativity, innovative thinking and appeal to young people interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Rockets must reach a target altitude and flight duration while meeting specific rules, which change annually to inspire innovation and new design approaches. Across nine days and six regions, UKRoC 2026 saw more than 1,000 schoolchildren from 210 teams and 116 schools and youth clubs take part.

Bad weather on the day placed both WHSB teams under enormous pressure. However, despite the hard work ahead of them competing against formidable opposing teams, impressive scores were achieved by flying perfectly within the time boundaries and just under the desired altitude. Record-breaking results enabled WHSB's teams to automatically secure their place in the national final in June.

We congratulate Edward, Logan, Nova, Liza, Sam, Riley, Ben, Edward, Chloe, Mini, Rayan, and Abdullah on their talent and commitment to rocketry and wish them the best of luck as they set their sights on the Final next month. Our School Community is immensely proud of their achievement. With thanks to Mr Dalby, Head of Physics for supporting the teams and facilitating the School's entry to the competition.