ADS proudly organises the UK Youth Rocketry Challenge (UKROC), held annually since 2006.
Aimed at students aged 11–18 from secondary schools, colleges, educational institutions, or youth groups, the challenge invites teams to design, build, and launch a model rocket carrying a fragile payload.
Rockets must reach a target altitude and flight duration while meeting specific rules, which change annually to inspire innovation and new design approaches.
After registering online, teams progress through the below stages:
- Regional Events
- National Final
- International Final
Key dates for 2027
- 31 December 2026 – Registration deadline
- 19 March 2027 – Scottish regional, Kinross
- 22, 23 & 24 March 2027 – North regional, York
- 26 March 2027 – Wales regional, Llanbedr
- 12, 13 & 14 April 2027 – South East regional, Essex
- 16 April 2027 – Northern Ireland regional, Antrim
- 17, 18 April 2027 – South West regional, Chippenham
- 30 April 2027 – UK National Final, Buckminster
- 17 & 18 June 2027 – International Final at Paris Airshow **
**We ask teams to note that the International Final will be held at Paris Airshow 2027. 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 & flights are 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
The International Final
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, Ukraine and Japan at the International Final at Paris Airshow 2027! 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
