Out of this world Astronaut Training Camp

To commemorate 50 years since the moon landings, the school became an Astronaut Training Camp on Thursday 11th July with a host of space-themed activities, challenges and of course, fancy dress.

The day centred around instilling the qualities of an astronaut into pupils from Pre-School to Sixth Form - they learned teamwork, adaptability, mental endurance and physical agility, along with scientific knowledge and understanding. It was an event of galactic proportions to show that the girls are strong enough to not just aim for the stars, but to walk among them.

From the moment pupils and staff arrived in stunning fancy dress to the final assembly, everyone threw themselves into the day and made the school come to life as a true Astronaut Training Camp. Girls completed rocket launches, trained like a Jedi, learned Russian, talked to alumnae about the medical side of space travel, and considered the psychology of challenge, as well as doing space-themed art, venturing inside the Wonderdome, and hearing from astronomers and space scientists Andy Green and Dennis Ashton about the Solar System. There was something for everyone of all ages to get involved with and make it a fabulous end-of-term day to remember.

Head Mrs Gunson said, “Astronaut Training Camp was an amazing day for the whole school to take part in and the atmosphere was buzzing from start to finish. We organised the day so the girls could learn about the amazing achievements of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969. 

“The girls learnt so much in just one day - from the importance of courage to venture into new territories to the creativity to deal with problems and we hope it has inspired them to dream up new possibilities for the future and perhaps even consider a career as an astronaut!

“We’re big fans of all things STEM, and for the girls to not only look at careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths but also how those skills apply into any career they go onto.”