Students enjoyed an experience that was out of this world during a visit to The National Space Centre.
Around 100 students from Year 7 were encouraged to reach for the stars when they visited the popular tourist attraction in Leicester as part of their science studies.
As part of their day they watched a film in the centre's Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium to learn what it takes to be an astronaut, including the changes in the human body during take off, the intense training involved and the dangers of being in space.
Dr S. Taylor, who organised the trip, said: “The National Space Centre is a wonderful venue that really brings science to life and our students had a great time learning more about space by looking around the many interesting galleries and exhibitions.
“With all of the publicity surrounding British astronaut Tim Peak’s expedition to the International Space Station, space exploration is currently at the forefront of people’s minds so it was a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn more about it."
The striking £52 million National Space Centre was opened in 2001 and is run as an educational charity to offer science workshops for schools.
The centre has six main galleries of exhibits and visitor activities covering space flight, astronomy and cosmology and has on display one of the only known Soyuz spacecraft in western Europe.
