Space could really be the final frontier for youngsters with a mind for science in schools across York and North Yorkshire, thanks to a new competition involving US space agency NASA. HAYDN LEWIS reports.

MAKING science interesting for teenagers can be a tall order for some teachers, a fact born out by a recent survey of school leavers who said they found the subject "irrelevant and boring".

In the poll, nearly 60 per cent of school leavers said more hands-on activity in science would inspire them to learn, while 73 per cent found experiments the most enjoyable part of science lessons.

Respondents to the YouGov survey commissioned by Edge, the practical learning foundation, called for more hands-on experience, creativity and real world examples, to increase interest in the subject at schools. In response, the learning foundation has launched Edge Into Space, a national competition to inspire secondary school pupils in York and North Yorkshire to get more involved and interested in science.

Edge has teamed up with NASA and the International Space School Educational Trust (ISSET) to give teenagers the chance to win an opportunity to experience the world of space for real.

The competition is open to 13 to 17-year-olds and involves problem-solving. Students are asked to form teams and invent an object or process that could be developed in space to improve life on earth or developed on earth to improve life in space.

Keith Laws, head of science at Brayton College, near Selby, has a group of six 14 and 15-year-olds who are interested in the project.

"The group here are interested in the possibilities of space and space exploration and are all interested in science," said Mr Laws.

"I think whether kids find science interesting or not depends very much on who teaches them. It's like anything else, you have people who can motivate anybody, and make the subject interesting.

"Some of the things we have to teach are a bit dry, but that is all set to change from September this year, when the Key Stage 4 science curriculum has been revamped to look at the practical applications of science in everyday life."

The competition prize is a trip to Kennedy Space Centre in Florida and Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, with the opportunity for the winning youngsters to work with astronauts.

Edge chief executive Andy Powell, pictured, said: "Science is about adventure and discovery, not years of reading from text books. Do you think England would have players like Rooney and Lampard if they were never allowed to kick a ball in training? Of course not, and it's the same for science lessons there are thousands of people who are not switched on by books.

"If we are going to inspire more young people to engage in science and head off the crisis we need to address the academic snobbery in our education system which excludes other forms of success such as practical learning."

The competition closes on March 19. Students can enter and find out more at www.edgeintospace.com

Updated: 11:06 Wednesday, February 01, 2006