Photo: Jennifer Pounds

At first I didn't know what to expect from Space School, would it be all work and no games? Would I make friends easily? And how would the food be? These were the questions buzzing in my mind on the way to the halls. But they very soon disappeared. As the week started it became the ultimate fun and learning experience! Other than space school when in your entire life would you do activities like skydiving and scuba diving within one week? And creating thunder in the lecture theatres made it clear that these were not your standard university lectures. Smashing up marshmallows and making telescopes and comets were just a few of the experiments we did in the university labs and at the space centre.  

Meeting other people that were top in their fields was one thing but actually being lectured by them was another. The mentors were as mad, if not madder than us, they were people who knew how to have fun, they created massive liquid nitrogen bombs where the boom could be heard for miles around! Our days were packed with sessions on exoplanets, cryogenics, satellites, black holes, master classes at the Space Centre, visits to EADS Astrium and Rockets workshops on the final days where we made real rockets with engines in them! 
 
By far the worst part was leaving and saying good-bye to all, even the guys who thought they were tough had tears coming down their faces.
 
Space school was a great eye-opening experience for me and one that I will certainly never ever forget. I met some really great people across the country and in some cases around the world in that one week, people who I will keep contact with my entire life.
 
And the Best bit was that no-one would think you are weird because you like Physics, because you're all like-minded!

Guest Blogger: Bella Chotaliya - Year 13 at Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College, Leicester