UKROC regional winners gear up for national finals and Paris showdown

over the past fortnight, we’ve travelled across the UK, hosting our seven regional UKROC competitions. Hundreds of schoolchildren have put their engineering hats on and competed for a spot at the National Finals.

For our four English regionals, we were thrilled to welcome 130 teams from locations as diverse as the Cornish coast to Durham Cathedral.

The challenge for students aged 11-18 was to design, build, and launch a model rocket carrying a fragile payload – an egg. Rockets were tasked with reaching an altitude of 790 feet and to return safely within a strict time window of 41-44 seconds.

Northern Regional

Held at Elvington Airfield near York, the Northern Regional saw 41 teams from across Newcastle, Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and County Durham take part.

Ampleforth College took home the trophy and have advanced to the UKROC 2025 National Finals, where they will join other regional champions to compete for the national title.

Midlands Regional

Our Midlands Regional saw 6 teams from across Birmingham, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire put their rockets through the ringers at BMFA Buckminster in Grantham.

Bishop Vesey’s Grammer School topped the tables and will now advance to the National Finals for a chance to represent the UK at the International Finals at the Paris Airshow.

Southeast Regional

Our largest regional competition to date welcomed 69 teams from Essex, Kent, London, Surrey, and Sussex.

Harris Westminster Sixth Form and Tendring Technology College shared the trophy, both securing their place in the UKROC 2025 National Finals.

Southwest Regional

The final regional event took place at Abbeyfield School in Chippenham, the school that took home the 2016 national title.

12 teams from across the region competed for the final spot but it was Abbeyfield that emerged victorious, hoping to make a comeback at the National Finals later in May.

What’s next?

The 8 regional champions now refine their rockets before joining competitors for the National Final on 1 May in Buckminster. 

The winners of the National final will head to Paris, where the UK will defend its two-year title as International Youth Rocketry Champions. 

More pictures from the events can be found here.

Biggest UK Youth Rocketry Challenge sees Slemish College top the Northern Ireland Regional Finals

  • 12 teams took part in the Northern Ireland Regional Finals of the 2025 UK Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKROC)
  • Slemish College are through to the UKROC 2025 National Finals
  • The 2025 UKROC competition will see almost 200 teams of schoolchildren from throughout the UK compete in seven regional competitions

 

Belfast (25 March 2025) – The Northern Ireland Regional Finals of the 2025 UK Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKROC) saw 12 teams of schoolchildren compete for a spot in the National Finals.

Slemish College have successfully advanced to the UKROC 2025 National Finals where they will join other regional champions to compete for the national title.

The competition sees teams of schoolchildren aged 11-18 design, build and launch a model rocket carrying a precious payload – two raw eggs.

Hosted by RLC Aerospace Limited at Langford Lodge, the winning team from Slemish College surpassed the competition’s altitude target of 790 feet, returning their rocket safely to the ground within the designated time window of 41-44 seconds.

Dr Steve Aiken OBE, Chair of the Northen Ireland Assembly All-Party Group on STEM and David Creighton, Engineering Director at Thales presented the awards to this year’s winners.

Organised by ADS, the UK’s aerospace, defence, security, and space trade association, this year’s competition is set to be the largest and most geographically diverse in the competition’s nearly 20-year history.

 

Leslie Orr, Director of ADS Northern Ireland, said:

“A huge congratulations to all the students who participated in today’s activities. UKROC plays a vital role in developing the next generation of leaders for our industry. By offering hands-on experience, this competition inspires a passion for STEM, showing that our sectors offer exciting and rewarding career paths. The competition at the National Finals will be fierce, and we wish all the schools the best of luck for the competition ahead.”

The 2025 UKROC competition will see almost 200 teams from throughout the UK compete in seven Regional Finals. The winners of the National final will head to Paris, where the UK will defend its two-year title as International Youth Rocketry Champions.”

 

The 2025 competition is kindly sponsored by Airbus and Lockheed Martin.

 

13 teams of Welsh schoolchildren go rocket-to-rocket at the UKROC regionals

  • 66 students took part in the inaugural Welsh regional finals of the 2025 UK Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKROC)
  • Haverfordwest High VC School are through to the UKROC 2025 National Finals
  • This year’s competition is set to be the largest and most geographically diverse in the competition’s almost 20-year history

Snowdonia (24 March 2025) – The inaugural Welsh regional finals of the 2025 UK Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKROC) saw 13 teams of students from 6 Welsh schools compete for a spot in the National Finals.

The competition sees teams of school children aged 11-18 design, build and launch a model rocket carrying a precious payload – an egg.

Haverfordwest High VC School have successfully advanced to the UKROC 2025 National Finals, where they will join other regional champions to compete for the national title.

Organised by ADS, the UK’s aerospace, defence, security, and space trade association, this year’s competition is set to be the largest and most geographically diverse in the competition’s nearly 20-year history.

Hosted at the Snowdonia Space Centre, the rockets were tasked with reaching an altitude of 790 feet and returning safely to the ground within a time window of 41-44 seconds.

Kevin Craven, CEO of ADS, said:

“A huge congratulations to all the students who participated in today’s activities. UKROC plays a vital role in developing the next generation of leaders for our industry. By offering hands-on experience, this competition inspires a passion for STEM, showing that our sectors offer exciting and rewarding career paths. The competition at the National Finals will be fierce, and we wish all the schools the best of luck for the competition ahead.”

Inaugural Welsh Competition

The Welsh regionals took place for the first time in 19 years thanks to funding from the UK Space Agency secured by the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre. This essential funding supported travel and equipment costs, helping to widen access to the competition for schools right across the region.

Jeremy Howitt, Snowdonia Aerospace Centre said:

“Today has showcased some incredibly talented and innovative young people from across Wales. As the proud hosts of today’s event, we congratulate all the schools for their remarkable effort – building a spacecraft is no small feat. Wales is a thriving hub of space innovation, and initiatives like these are helping to secure the future of our sector and provide the vital pipeline of talent we need. We encourage all participants to explore the rewarding and exciting opportunities available in our growing space sector.”

Qualifying teams will now refine their rockets before joining competitors for the National Final on 1 May in Buckminster.

The 2025 UKROC competition will see almost 200 teams of schoolchildren from throughout the UK compete in seven regional finals. The winners of the National final will head to Paris, where the UK will defend its two-year title as International Youth Rocketry Champions.

The 2025 competition is kindly sponsored by Airbus and Lockheed Martin.