This Tuesday, over 50 pupils from Broughton Manor Preparatory School and Milton Keynes Preparatory School came to Northampton High School to take part in a Design & Technoloy and Science enrichment day.

The Years 5 and 6 spent some time in each department learning about various aspects of the subjects and were also given the opportunity to make some products to take home with them including a desk tidy, jacket potato mouse and a cushion.
One of the most popular aspects of the day was the Bloodhound SSC (Supersonic Car) workshop.

Bloodhound ambassadors, Allan Read and Nick Naylor joined Mrs Cantwell and Mr Asbury from our Physics department to deliver an inspiring and challenging workshop explaining the science behind the Bloodhound Supersonic Car which will attempt to break the land speed record and travel at 1000mph in the South African desert in 2014.

An interactive presentation in the eLearning centre was followed by an opportunity to explore the principle of rocket propulsion outside with water rockets. The workshop finished with each girl making and racing her own Bloodhound balloon car. Intense competition to add modifications to improve the design and performance resulted in a fantastic final race with the enthusiasm and determination of each team of girls to win matched only by their teachers and the sixth formers who came to help and support!

Bloodhound Ambassadors Allan and Nick left at the end of the afternoon and drove to Newquay, where, on Wednesday, as you might have seen on the news, at the Aerohub, Newquay Cornwall Airport, the Bloodhound Project successfully tested its unique hybrid rocket system, for the first time. It was the biggest rocket fired in the UK for over 20 years and a key milestone in the development of the world’s first 1,000 mph car.

Julia Cantwell
Physics Department
Northampton High School
October 2012