Virgin Galactic astronaut inspires pupils at Clevedon School

Colin Bennett said he wanted to show anyone dreaming of space travel that it was possible

An astronaut who was one of only six people on Sir Richard Branson's trip to space has said he hoped to inspire future generations of pupils.

Colin Bennett, an ex-pupil at Clevedon School in Somerset was part of the 1.5-hour mission on the billionaire's Virgin Galactic rocket plane.

Andy Davis taught Mr Bennett 20 years ago and said it was "amazing" to see his former pupil reach space.

The school has also named a new science block after Mr Bennett.

Virgin Galactic's lead engineer made history when he successfully reached the edge of space.

Andy Davis said Colin Bennett's achievements had inspired pupils at Clevedon School

The plane flew high above New Mexico in the US on Sunday, returning to Earth safely an hour after take-off.

• 'The experience of a lifetime'

Back at Clevedon School, physics lessons dedicated to Mr Bennett this week were led by Andy Davis.

He said: "It's amazing. It's great to see an ex-student achieve something so monumental.

Colin Bennett, second from the left, was part of the historic Virgin Galactic space flight

"Lots of students say they want to be astronauts when they are very young, and people might laugh at them, but we've got a student who's actually become one, so that's really inspiring."

After touching down, Mr Bennett revealed he had taken a Clevedon School flag into space sent to him by headteacher Jim Smith.

He said it was a "huge honour" to have the flag with him and he planned to send it back to the school.

"That's really what it's about for me, trying to inspire the next generation - to show kids and anybody that's dreaming about this kind of thing that it's possible."

The maximum height reached by Sir Richard Branson and his crew was 85km (282,000ft; 53 miles).

As well as Mr Bennett, the flight crew featured pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci and Virgin Galactic employees Beth Moses and Sirisha Bandla.