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.

WATCH BACK ON DEMAND – UKROC 2025 – Webinar – What’s it all about?

We’re thrilled to launch the UKROC 2025 ‘What’s it all about’ webinar to help explain all about the competition and what’s involved.

UKROC offers an exciting and unique opportunity for students aged between 11-18 to further learn about science, technology and maths in an interactive and engaging way. You’re in good company, with many teams participating in the challenge for the very first time.

This webinar offers the perfect chance to find out more about the competition. You can also ask questions to our 2024 UKROC international winners and our rocketeers.

The webinar will take place on Tuesday 26 November, 12:30 – 13:30. To register your place to join, please email ukroc@adsgroup.org.uk. If you can’t attend, please register your place and let us know and we will send you the recording of the webinar

Watch back on demand HERE.

WATCH BACK ON DEMAND – UKROC 2025 – Webinar – Building A Model Rocket: Your Step-by-Step Guide

Are you ready to blast off into the world of rocketry but don’t know where to start? Do you already have a prototype and want to improve it? It is a competition after all, and with a chance to compete in an International Final in Paris, the challenge is hotting up.

In this webinar our Rocketeer experts, David Tranter and John Jacomb were on hand to offer guidance and support for building your rocket. Whether you’re a complete beginner or an experienced enthusiast, this webinar will provide valuable insights and practical tips to help you take your rocketry skills to new heights. It will motivate you to get that project started and with time for a Q&A, there’s an opportunity to ask for help with your specific concerns or issues.

The Step-by-Step Guide introduces the key components of the rockets, where to purchase materials from, other resources to consider, such as flying clubs, and goes through the rules to ensure a successful flight.

The webinar will take place on Monday 14 October, 12:30 – 13:30. To register your place to join, please email ukroc@adsgroup.org.uk. If you can’t attend, please register your place and let us know and we will send you the recording of the webinar.

Watch back on demand HERE.