St Leonards wins Scottish Regional UK Space Design Competition

St Leonards wins Scottish Regional UK Space Design Competition

A team of St Leonards pupils has won the Scottish Regional Final of the UK Space Design Competition, in the school’s first year of entering the event. The challenge is an industry-style simulation in which pupils work as a “space company” to respond to a professional Request for Proposal, mirroring the processes used in real aerospace engineering projects.

This year’s brief required teams to design a new heavy cargo spacecraft for operations across the inner solar system. Working under intense time pressure, the pupils had to integrate ideas across structural, operational, automation, human and business requirements. This included decisions about how the spacecraft’s structure should support large cargo modules and fuel tanks, how it would be assembled and protected in microgravity, and how it would manoeuvre and refuel on demanding orbital routes. They also had to judge where automation could reduce risk and cost – from robotic cargo handling and autonomous docking sequences to onboard monitoring systems. In parallel, they were responsible for specifying life support systems (air, water, waste management, radiation protection and emergency response) for a small crew, as well as the human factors that would make the spacecraft a safe and pleasant working and living environment. Alongside this technical work, they had to show how their choices could be shaped into a convincing proposal for the client, including indicative pricing, running costs and long-term profitability.

The St Leonards team partnered with St George’s School, Edinburgh, forming a joint company for the competition. Pupils travelled to Glasgow the day before the event, staying overnight ahead of a full day of design sprints, internal reviews and a formal presentation to a judging panel of STEM professionals.

Within the combined team, St Leonards pupils played a central role in shaping the final proposal and spearheaded the delivery of the presentation, leading key sections and helping to respond to detailed questions from the judges on both technical and commercial aspects of the design.

Following their regional success, the team will now participate in the UK National Finals at Imperial College London in March, joining other regional winners from across the country to tackle a new and even more demanding brief.