On Saturday 2nd December the College hosted a visit from astronaut Commander Mark Kelly when he touched down in London after a high profile visit with his fellow space shuttle crew. Fresh from events at the House of Commons and Imperial College he spent his Saturday showing schoolchildren how science, maths and engineering education can lead to some of the best jobs on earth.

Commander Kelly piloted the space shuttle STS 121 on the recent return to flight test mission. STS-121 (July 4-17, 2006), was a return-to-flight test mission and assembly flight to the International Space Station.

During the 13-day flight the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery tested new equipment and procedures that increase the safety of space shuttles, repaired a rail car on the International Space Station and produced never-before-seen, high-resolution images of the Shuttle during and after its July 4th launch. The crew also performed maintenance on the space station and delivered and transferred more than 28,000 pounds of supplies and equipment, and a new Expedition 13 crew member to the station. The mission was accomplished in 306 hours, 37 minutes and 54 seconds.

His previous mission was on STS 108 Endeavour in 2001. STS travelled 4.8 million miles orbiting the earth 185 times in 283 hours and 36 minutes.

Welcoming Commander Kelly, Headmaster John Trotman, said, “Mark is an engineer by background and he is a wonderful advertisement for what you can do after training to be a scientist, engineer or medic.”

Commander Kelly spoke about life in space and what it was like to be an astronaut before taking questions from the audience. Commander Kelly when he has spoken to young people from inner city areas says that the best part of being an astronaut was the fact that it was so challenging: "You are working very hard at being successful and being part of a team. This is something you can all do in your own lives. "It is important, no matter what, to work hard and prepare yourself for any opportunities in the future," he added.

Head of Science Dr John Williams is leading a number of initiatives at the College to enthuse pupils about science and technology including the launch of an interactive science centre in June of this year. The Science Action Centre, which has over 35 hands-on displays for pupils to explore, is open to all primary schools in the area. “We are absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to host such an exciting event. It couldn’t have come at a better time for us with all the other things we are doing at the moment.”