Mission Team #8

United Kingdom

Mission Team #8: the United Kingdom

In every country Endeavour has worked in, we’ve been blessed to have serious, well-established partners with a shared vision for supporting the next generation of leaders. No where was that more apparent than in the UK where we connected with the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, and its 30,000+ cadet cadre.

Grace, Adam, Brodie, and Emily have been selected as the best of the best to attend Space Camp . These cadets are top in their squadrons, and top in the entire nation. Their accompanying educator, Flight Lieutenant Tom Grocott, is responsible for training development across the organization. He’ll certainly bring a level of professionalism to camp, as well as return with new STEM understandings to weave into the program..

Scholarship Recipients

ADAM McKENNA

My name is Adam McKenna and I’m an air cadet from the north east of England. From a young age space has always been my future and I look forward to the opportunities that shall arrive in the future of space travel. When offered this chance from my squadron, I snatched at the chance and applied immediately. The many adventures such as the scuba training look incredible and I can’t wait to throw myself at everything that comes my way. Additionally the opportunity to meet Charles Duke is priceless and will hopefully be a memory to remember in years to come. Al Worden was a legendary test pilot and to be able to complete a scholarship he set up is extraordinary. In the future I hope to use this scholarship as a boost for applications which will help me go beyond the horizon.

Emily Hayton

Being a part of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, has given me many opportunities to experience STEM in both practical and theoretical ways. I believe the advancement of technology will lead to the betterment of mankind, allowing all people, no matter what their strengths and weaknesses are, to be involved in society in full. Through new technologies children with learning difficulties, the disabled and less fortunate, can and will succeed in future society and our society can be fully inclusive to all areas.

BRODIE STANHOPE

I’m Brodie from the United Kingdom, and I enjoy learning about space, aviation, geography, and physics. Through the Air Training Corps, I’ve learned leadership and teamwork skills, and have experienced flying, fieldcraft, and adventure training. In the future I aim to study aerospace engineering and contribute to the cutting edge of spaceflight technology. It’s incredibly exciting to attend space camp in an international cohort and learn more about how to live and work in space. I’m delighted to be part of Mission #8, the first UK Endeavour Scholarship team, and I hope this will inspire others to pursue their interests.

GRACE MARRON

Hello everyone! My name is Grace Marron, I’m 16 years old, from the UK. The opportunity to be involved in the Al Worden Endeavour Scholarship was first presented to me by my RAF Air Cadet’s squadron and due to the rarity of such an opportunity arising in the organisation, I knew instantly I had to apply! I have been in the Air Cadets for over two years now, participating in some amazing activities ,such as Gliding. I’ve always had a strong fascination in space since I was very young, however it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that fascination turned into passion. Since then, I have been nothing but driven to have an aerospace career in the future and still love learning new things about space. It makes me so proud that I get to be part of a programme that is passionate about giving young people like me such an extraordinary experience and unique opportunities that will help me with my future studies and with learning new things, which I love to do!

It makes me so proud that I get to be part of a programme that is passionate about giving young people like me such an extraordinary experience and unique opportunity!

- Grace Marron

Educator

Flight Lieutenant Tom Grocott is a qualified teacher and a volunteer Commissioned Officer with the Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC), a UK-wide national youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force. It delivers training with a military ethos to help young people achieve their full potential.

Tom is responsible for training development across the organisation. He manages a team that designs modern and engaging training resources that 10,000 volunteers use to deliver training to over 36,000 Air Cadets at nearly 1000 squadrons across the UK. In addition, he has developed a new accredited space syllabus for the RAFAC, working with industry partners to create modular packages that volunteers can deliver flexibly, enabling every cadet to achieve a vocational Space Studies qualification. The progressive syllabus allows cadets to learn more about our solar system and the broader universe as they move through their training, with the aim of inspiring them to indulge in further space-related learning later in life.

He is also the Squadron Commander of his local RAFAC squadron, where he can trail new training ideas with the squadron’s cadets and volunteers and receive feedback on new initiatives.

During the day, Tom works for the National Health Service as a digital learning designer at a large hospital group. He uses his extensive teaching experience to develop training packages that can be accessed remotely and flexibly, saving busy doctors, nurses and other hospital staff time so they can concentrate on caring for their patients.