British Science Week 2026: Curiosity, Questions… and Rockets
What would happen if you attached enough helium balloons to a house? How do we get to space — and could life exist somewhere else in the universe? What does it take to build a lighthouse that actually works? These are exactly the kinds of brilliant, curious, irresistible questions that have been filling our classrooms and corridors at Abbot’s Hill this week, as we throw ourselves wholeheartedly into British Science Week 2026.
This year’s national theme — “Curiosity: What’s Your Question?” — could not be a more perfect fit for the spirit of science here. Our assembly kicked things off in style, exploring the power of questioning and celebrating the extraordinary scientific discoveries that human curiosity has given the world. From gravity to genetics, from the structure of DNA to the surface of Mars — it all began with someone simply asking “why?”
And this week, our pupils have been doing exactly that.
Year 7 — Reaching for the Stars
Our Year 7scientists set their sights firmly on the cosmos this week, diving into one of the biggest questions of all: is there life beyond Earth? As well as exploring what life actually needs to exist, the pupils got hands-on in the most spectacular fashion — building and launching their very own model rockets. The results were brilliant, the excitement was infectious, and more than a few future astronauts may well have been inspired along the way.
Year 8 — How Many Balloons Does It Take?
Inspired by the much-loved film Up, Year 8 combined their classroom work on forces with a challenge that had everyone utterly gripped — building model houses and calculating just how many helium-filled balloons it would take to lift them into the air. The results were by turns surprising, hilarious and genuinely illuminating, and the level of scientific thinking on display was impressive throughout.
Year 9 — Lighthouse Engineers
Testing both their engineering instincts and their coding skills, Year 9 took on the Lighthouse Challenge — designing and constructing their own inventive lighthouse structures using K’Nex, before bringing them to life with illuminated circuits powered by a Micro:bit. The results were creative, clever and hugely satisfying, and the problem-solving skills demonstrated were a real testament to the curiosity and resilience of our pupils.
Tear 10 /11 — Growing Something Beautiful
Our Year 10 and 11 pupils are taking their curiosity home with them this week — quite literally. Each pupil has been given wildflower seed balls to plant over the coming weeks, and the question now is a wonderfully simple and joyful one: what will grow? We look forward to finding out over the summer, and we suspect there will be some rather spectacular results.
British Science Week is a wonderful reminder that curiosity is at the very heart of great science — and great education. The questions our pupils have been asking this week, the things they have built, launched, tested and discovered, are a source of enormous pride for everyone here.
Keep asking questions, everyone. The best discoveries always start with curiosity.
