ADS is the proud organiser of the UK Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKROC) and has been running the event annually since 2006.
The challenge is aimed at students aged 11 – 18 from any secondary schools, colleges, educational facilities or youth groups to design, build and launch a model rocket with a fragile payload.
The rocket must reach a set altitude with specific total flight duration and must adhere to the specific set rules. The competition’s rules and scoring parameters change each year to challenge the students’ ingenuity and encourage a fresh approach to rocket design.
- 2026 rules will be released in August 2025, if you have registered a team, you will receive these via email
- Best Practice Guide
After submitting your registration online there are three main stages of the competition;
- Regional Events
- The National Final
- The International Final
Key dates for 2026
UKROC 2026 dates will be released in August 2025, please see provisional dates below:
- March/April 2026 – Midlands regional*
- March/April 2026 – Scottish regional
- March/April 2026 – Northern Ireland regional
- March/April 2026 – Wales regional
- March/April 2026 – North regional
- March/April 2026 – South East regional
- March/April 2026 – South East regional
- March/April 2026 – South West regional
- June 2026 – UK National Final, Buckminster**
- 23 & 24 July 2026 – International Final at Farnborough International Airshow
*Please note that a Midlands and Welsh regional event will only take place if enough teams register to attend. We aim to host these regionals, however if this doesn’t happen you will be asked to attend the next closest regional from the locations above.
**We ask teams to note that the International Final will be held at Farnborough Airshow 2026. If your team progresses to the National Final, we ask that you only take part if your team can attend the International Final in person if crowned UKROC champions. Accommodation is covered by UKROC.
The Regional Events
In order to attend a Regional Event, you must register for the competition before the deadline date. You and your team can then attend a Regional Event nearest to you to launch your rocket and record your qualifying flights. Your rocket launch will be scored by our Rocketry Experts.
The best scoring team from each Regional Event will automatically go through to the UK National Final.
The National Final
The 20 top scoring teams from the Regional Events will meet at our National Final in Buckminster, Grantham. Similar to the Regional Events, you and your team will launch your rocket and if you win, well then you can start packing your suitcase as you’ll be going to compete in the International Finals!U
The International Finals
This is the third and final stage of the competition. The UK winning team from the National final will compete against the winning teams from America, France and Japan at the International Final at Farnborough Airshow 2026! UKROC will fund the UK winning team to attend.
Watch the videos for: 2019 International Final, 2021 National Final, 2022 International Final and 2023 International Final
