Two fifth year students at Pollokshields’ all-girls Craigholme School are blasting off to the Scottish Space School this summer.

Sarika Nalagatla from Pollokshields and Laura Bauld from Kings Park, both 16, are looking forward to attending the summer school at Strathclyde University.

The Scottish Space School is a partnership initiative between Careers Scotland and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which intends to inspire young people to consider careers or further education in science and technology.

Laura said, ‘It has taken a lot of hard work to get to this final selection stage but it has certainly been worth it. We had to complete six modules online and attend a course at Glasgow’s Science Centre, but the Summer School will be the icing on the cake.’

Sarika added, ‘I am interested in pursuing a career in the sciences. The Space School has been an inspirational experience to date. We have met astronauts and cosmonauts, and greatly enjoyed learning about their experiences of travelling and conducting experiments in space.’

Craigholme is countering the national trend of declining interest in science subjects in schools, with timetabling changes resulting in students selecting three science subjects.