YOUNGSTERS at an Ilkley school will be making their mark on space travel.

Pupils at Westville House School will see their signatures travel aboard a US Space Shuttle mission.

The school is one of only 500 worldwide, selected to take part in the Student Signatures in Space program.

Each participating school has been sent a giant poster for students to sign.

It will then be returned and photographed and the negatives launched with the crew of the Space Shuttle mission STS-108, a space station assembly mission, scheduled for launch on November 1.

Upon completion of the mission, the poster is returned - along with a flight certificate verifying that the signatures flew in space.

A photograph of the crew, which carried their names into orbit will also be sent and the school will be mentioned in the shuttle log. A spokesman for the school said: "The ICT teacher, Wendy Mellon, contacted Signatures in Space before Christmas and we are very honoured to have been-chosen as one of the 500 schools globally and have our signatures flown into space."

The project, which is aimed at inspiring future generations to continue the vision of our space pioneers and to encourage maths and technology, is associated with American Space Day, on May 3.

Pupils at Westville House will celebrate with the culmination of space projects, in collaboration with www.spaceday.com. they have been working on for several weeks.

The school will also hold space quizzes, live polls and link up to a webcast from Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, in Washington DC.