Sunderland school sowing seeds brought back to Earth by Tim Peake

Pupils at a city school are on a mission to grow plants which are out of this world.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Mar 2016, 10:09 BST
Updated 2nd Mar 2016, 10:16 BST
Yera 1 Class 7Pupils at Hill View Infant Schol, Helvellyn Road, Sunderland, who have been selected to receive some seeds from Space Staion astronaut Tim Peake.Yera 1 Class 7Pupils at Hill View Infant Schol, Helvellyn Road, Sunderland, who have been selected to receive some seeds from Space Staion astronaut Tim Peake.
Yera 1 Class 7Pupils at Hill View Infant Schol, Helvellyn Road, Sunderland, who have been selected to receive some seeds from Space Staion astronaut Tim Peake.

Hill View Infant School has been chosen to take part in a space project to grow seeds brought back to earth by British astronaut Tim Peake from the International Space Station.

Excited youngsters at the Helvellyn Road school are thrilled to be embarking on this voyage of discovery.

Pupils at Hill View Infant Schol, Helvellyn Road, Sunderkland, whi have been selected to receive some seeds from Space Staion astronaut Tim Peake. Pictured are Class 7 teacher Catherine Scott and her class 7 Year 1.Pupils at Hill View Infant Schol, Helvellyn Road, Sunderkland, whi have been selected to receive some seeds from Space Staion astronaut Tim Peake. Pictured are Class 7 teacher Catherine Scott and her class 7 Year 1.
Pupils at Hill View Infant Schol, Helvellyn Road, Sunderkland, whi have been selected to receive some seeds from Space Staion astronaut Tim Peake. Pictured are Class 7 teacher Catherine Scott and her class 7 Year 1.
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Tammy Crompton, head teacher at the Wearside school, said they were thrilled to be one of the schools chosen to take part in such an important project.

In September, 2kg of rocket seeds were flown to the International Space Station where they will spend several months in microgravity before returning to Earth.

The seeds have been sent as part of Rocket Science, an educational project launched by the Royal Horticultural Society Campaign for School Gardening and the UK Space Agency.

Hill View will be one of the schools to receive a packet of 100 seeds which they will grow alongside normal seeds and measure the differences over seven weeks.

Pupils at Hill View Infant Schol, Helvellyn Road, Sunderkland, whi have been selected to receive some seeds from Space Staion astronaut Tim Peake. Pictured are Class 7 teacher Catherine Scott and her class 7 Year 1.Pupils at Hill View Infant Schol, Helvellyn Road, Sunderkland, whi have been selected to receive some seeds from Space Staion astronaut Tim Peake. Pictured are Class 7 teacher Catherine Scott and her class 7 Year 1.
Pupils at Hill View Infant Schol, Helvellyn Road, Sunderkland, whi have been selected to receive some seeds from Space Staion astronaut Tim Peake. Pictured are Class 7 teacher Catherine Scott and her class 7 Year 1.
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The children won’t know which seed packet contains which seeds, until all results have been collected by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and analysed by professional biostatisticians.

The science experiment will enable the children to think more about how we could preserve human life on another planet in the future, what astronauts need to survive long-term missions in space and the difficulties surrounding growing fresh food in challenging climates.

Catherine Scott, Year 1 teacher at the city school, said: “We are very excited to be taking part in Rocket Science. This experiment is a fantastic way of teaching our children to think more scientifically and share their findings with the whole community.”

Rocket Science is just one educational project from a programme developed by the UK Space Agency to celebrate British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s mission to the ISS and inspire young people to look into careers in Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects.

Related topics:Tim PeakeEarthSunderland