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Over half term three students from Beauchamp joined 17 other students from around Leicester to make up the UK representation at the International Space Olympics, held at Korolyov, Russia. The purpose of the Space Olympics is to create international co-operation and friendship, to share Russian culture with the world and to promote the interest of high performing students in physics, mathematics and space. As well as students from Russia and England, there were teams from Germany, Israel, Spain, Greece and the USA. The students competed in presentations and exams in maths, physics and creative writing. They also spent time visiting cultural and scientific landmarks in and around Moscow. They visited Red Square and the Kremlin. They visited the cosmonaut training school (Star City) and the Mission Control of the International Space Station in Korolyov. They also enjoyed dance displays and opening and closing ceremonies that included a chance for the team to show the other competitors the joys of that quintessentially English tradition, Morris Dancing! They met two retired cosmonauts and one active one, Sergey Volkov and took part in a live link up with the International Space Station. They visited local schools and enjoyed their tremendous hospitality. They also survived the truly terrible Moscow traffic! The experience was incredible. As well as gaining an insight into a fascinating culture, students were able to see at first hand the city at the very heart of manned space flight on this planet. They competed, achieved and grew. Hopefully this was the first of many visits Beauchamp students will be making to Korolyov. We are indebted to the Ogden Trust, The National Space Centre, the education departments of Korolyov and Moscow Region and to the Russian Space Corporation, Energia for making the trip possible. |
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