Taylorian

TAYLORIAN 2024

11

National Youth Theatre Success Many congratulations to Chaitya Jain (Divs) and Shahraiz Siyyid (L6th) who are the latest MTS students to win places in the prestigious National Youth Theatre. Chaitya took on the role of a Trader in the most recent Senior Production, Enron . He was also the Assistant Stage Manager this year on Our Day Out , supporting and mentoring the younger students. Shahraiz has taken part in several performances including the Senior Production of Macbeth and House Drama. This is the fifth successive year MTS boys have won places with the NYT.

Space Sustainability Competition This year Krish Thakrar took part in satellite communications company Viasat’s first-of-its-kind ‘Beyond: Space’ competition, for which students had to research, design and present their own concept to improve space sustainability. Krish was one of five finalists to be selected from thousands of entrants, and was invited to Viasat HQ in London to present his design to a large audience and panel of industry experts. Krish’s idea focused on a new coating for spacecraft to minimize atmospheric light pollution and support astronomy. Krish came runner-up in the competition, securing a sizeable educational grant, a week of work experience with Viasat in the summer, extended mentorship from two industry experts, and a multitude of new connections. Ray Fielding, Head of Space Sustainability at the UK Space Agency and competition judge, said: “We were highly impressed with the quality of these students’ entries. In fact, their ideas are replicating many of the cutting-edge space sustainability concepts and technology ideas that the UK Space Agency is developing for UK Government. It has been amazing to see the level of research and knowledge shown by all the finalists.”