A horticultural project is set to further ‘ignite’ Lympstone Primary School pupils’ passion for science, says year five teacher Marcus Lang.

The project is run by the Royal Horticultural Society and supported by British astronaut Tim Peake.

The children will be tasked with planting rocket seeds that have been in orbit with him - and compare their growth with rocket plants that have stayed on earth.

Mr Lang said the national project would unleash the pupils’ sense of ‘discovery’.

He said: “We are very excited for the arrival of the seeds, as the children have been waiting for them for a long time.

“I believe the activities we have been running as a school have ignited the pupils’ passion for science.

“Every year group will be planting a seed. We weren’t sure how they were going to react in the beginning, but they have been really engaged. My students have taken their passion outside of the classroom and made their own models.

“Science is important. It plays a huge part in our lives. I love teaching the subject, as it is not about sitting down and teaching from a textbook, it involves children investigating things. Science is all about discovery.”

The Journal has reported how Lympstone Primary School has been following Tim’s progress as part of the Times Education Supplement’s (TES) Cosmic Classroom project.

Mr Lang also told the Journal the Cosmic Classroom project was about raising the profile of science.

The year five teacher revealed the school would be holding a ‘Wow Week’ dedicated to science and technology. It will be held next month before the half-term holiday.

He continued: “I think Tim Peake has raised the profile of science, which is demonstrated by the thousands of comments and likes he gets on his posts.

“On behalf of the children and school, we would like to thank him for all he has done.”