Lift Off for Wick High Astronaut Contact

We’re delighted to hear that Wick High School is preparing for an ARISS contact. The RSGB School Youth Champion, Chris Aitken, MM0WIC is the Computing teacher at the school and also runs the school’s amateur radio club. He has shared this update with us.

Wick High School is preparing for an experience that is truly out of this world.

Computing teacher Mr Aitken is delighted to announce that the school has been selected to take part in a live question-and-answer session with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS)—a rare honour and an extraordinary opportunity for pupils across East Caithness.

Between July and December 2026, pupils from Wick High School and its feeder primary schools will take part in a programme of space-themed learning activities, all leading up to the headline event: a live radio contact with the ISS as it passes overhead at over 17,000 miles per hour.

During the live contact, pupils will speak directly to the astronaut via radio in a brief window as the Space Station flies past. In the lead-up to the event, pupils will submit questions, with selected students asking them live on air—an unforgettable moment for everyone involved.

Because of Wick’s far-northern location, this contact is likely to be one of the most northerly direct educational links with the ISS ever attempted. The station will appear around 25 degrees above the southern horizon, travelling west to east, making the contact both spectacular and technically demanding.

The event will be supported by Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS UK), a volunteer team who specialise in making these unique contacts possible. Wick’s high latitude presents additional challenges, including a shorter communication window than usual. While most ISS school contacts last up to 15 minutes, Wick’s contact is expected to last between 8 and 10 minutes, giving pupils a tight but thrilling timeframe to speak to space.

Due to the nature of NASA scheduling and astronaut crew rotations, it is not yet possible to confirm an exact date for the contact.

Mr Aitken said:

“The school put in a very strong application, with clear cross-curricular links, engagement from our feeder primaries, and the success of the Wick High School Radio Club. We now have 15 students who’ve passed their amateur radio licence exams and become qualified radio operators.

This is quite possibly the highest honour a group can achieve in amateur radio. The UK typically gets only two ISS school contacts per year, so for Wick High to be selected is incredible.”

Mr Aitken recently attended an ISS contact event in Leamington Spa in his role as RSGB Youth Chair:

“It was absolutely amazing. You could feel the excitement in the room as the young people waited for the space station to come across the horizon and when we eventually heard a voice the room lit up. The astronaut, Jonny Kim, answered all the questions with so much detail and even addressed each of the children by name. It was incredible. This could be the most high-profile STEM activity ever undertaken in the county—and it will be live-streamed to the world.”

Over the past three years, the Wick High School Radio Club, call sign GMØWHS, has built a strong reputation within the amateur radio community across the UK. The club introduces young people to a wide range of activities, including HF and VHF radio, satellite communication, digital modes, and even Morse Code, which continues to attract enthusiastic learners.

The school also offers pupils the opportunity to gain industry-recognised amateur radio qualifications through structured online lessons, culminating in official examinations accredited by the Radio Society of Great Britain.

As preparations continue, excitement is building across the school community—proof that even from the far north of Scotland, the path to space is well within reach.

Category: School Zone stories