The sky was the limit for 23 students from Ubley Primary school, when students from Year 3 to Year 6, visited Sidcot School this week, to view the planets and stars from the Sidcot School Observatory.

The trip was set up to support the students who have recently been covering space as their science topic. Ubley pupils attended a 30-minute workshop hosted by Mr Andy Darvill, Teacher of Physics at Sidcot school, as part of the workshop the children discussed space, light and the placement of the planets. The students also made their own spectroscopes to take home – these show the different colours that light is made up of - after the workshop, they ventured out to the Observatory for a look at the nights sky with Russell Spooner, Sidcot Observatory Club Leader, here students had the opportunity to look through the telescope at Jupiter and several other stars and planets. One student commented:

“It was amazing we saw all four of Jupiter’s moons Lo, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, all in a straight line….. some people think there might be life on Europa!”

This was a truly fantastic opportunity for Ubley pupils and great to have such clear skies on the night. 

During January and February Sidcot Pupils from Year 5, 6 and many of our boarders have also been taking advantage of the dark skies to view the planets from our observatory. A great asset for the school, the observatory was built by Sidcot Sixth Form students and Mr Spooner, ten years ago, with support for the telescope from Sidcot alumni donations and the Cadbury Trust. We are looking forward to many more observatory visits this year, sky and weather permitting!