Parliament Hill School is celebrating an outstanding achievement as Lily has secured a fully funded place on the UK team for the International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC) at NASA in Florida in July 2026. She is one of around 20 students selected nationally.

This follows the school’s recent success at the UK Space Design Challenge National Finals at Imperial College London earlier this month, where Year 10 and 11 students won the competition as part of the “Sapien” team after an intensive 24-hour challenge to design a self-sustaining moon base. Students representing Parliament Hill School: Yasmin, Defne, Frieda, Lily, Jayda, Megan, Paromita, Vesa and Lucia.

Lily said: "I was completely shocked when I found out, I could not believe it. It’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

NASA-linked competitions are among the most competitive in the world. The annual NASA Space Apps Challenge attracts thousands of participants globally, with the 2025 competition selecting just 10 winning teams from over 11,500 project submissions. Projects are judged through multiple rounds on creativity, collaboration and use of real NASA data, highlighting the scale and prestige of opportunities like these.

Mr Papapostolou, PHS teacher, said:
“We are incredibly proud of our students. They showed confidence, creativity and resilience throughout.”

This achievement reflects Parliament Hill School’s commitment to excellence and its success in preparing students to compete and succeed on a global stage.