STAR sixth-former Tom Conway was over the moon when he won a scholarship to the U.S. space academy.

Tom, 17, of The Meadows, Wilberfoss, will spend a week training to be an astronaut at the academy in Huntsville, Alabama, this summer.

A pupil at Woldgate School, Pocklington, Tom won the out-of-this-world experience by giving a talk on chemiluminescence, when two chemicals react together to produce light. He competed against five other East Yorkshire pupils in a contest held at the University of Hull during National Science Week.

Tom said: "I didn't expect to win as the competition was so good. I am very interested in the engineering side of space travel so this scholarship will be a fantastic experience."

He said that he will be using equipment used by real astronauts such as scuba tanks and going on several two-hour endurance missions.

Tom is studying maths mechanics, physics, chemistry and ICT at A level.

Updated: 09:48 Saturday, March 15, 2003