ROCKET science has come to Shottermill Infant School in an educational project launched by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and the UK Space Agency.

Seeds were flown to the International Space Station (ISS) to spend several months in microgravity, and Shottermill is one of up to 10,000 schools nationwide to receive a packet of 100.

Year two pupils will grow them alongside seeds that haven’t been to space and measure the differences over seven weeks.

They won’t know which seed packet contains which seeds until all results have been collected by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and analysed by professional bio-statisticians.

The educational project is part of a programme developed by the UK Space Agency to celebrate British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s Principia Mission to the ISS and inspire young people to look into careers in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects, including horticulture.

The deadline for applications to take part in Rocket Science is March 2016, or until all packets have been allocated. Schools and educational groups can apply at www.rhs.org.uk and serach for ‘school gardening’.