A TEAM of engineers from Cwmbran have inspired primary school pupils to reach for the stars with the help of a teddy bear.

Barney, the mascot of children’s charity Barnardo’s, was sent 21 miles into the stratosphere by a team of engineers at Eaton, Cwmbran.

Follow his return to Earth, Barney was taken to Millbrook Primary by team members Adam McBride and Sam Rowbotham, where the video of his spectacular journey was used to inspire the children.

Headteacher Lindsey Watkins said: “The visit was inspiring for the children. It brought the real world into the school and showed how working as a team and the use of technology can help solve problems.

“It taught them what can be achieved. They were completely engaged and several of them said they now want to be engineers.”

A team of eight engineers, designers and interns from Eaton spent six months planning Barney’s daring fundraising mission which saw the bear travel approximately 115,000ft into the stratosphere with the help of a helium-filled weather balloon, designed to burst at a certain altitude.

An on-board camera captured Barney’s four-hour trip, from his rapid ascent into the clouds to his amazing view of the curvature of the earth.

It recorded his 150mph descent, slowed by parachute, when he narrowly dodged a dunking in the English Channel before a slightly bumpy landing into a field near Portsmouth, 150 miles from the launch site.

Project engineer Adam McBride said: “Barnardo’s Cymru challenged us to use their mascot to raise money and we wanted to inspire children too. The team that carried out Barney’s successful mission was very diverse and we brought our different skills together to make it work. We want children to know that everyone has something to contribute.

“By seeing the pictures Barney brought back we hope children can see that the world can be a beautiful and positive place.”

The team have set up a Just Giving page to raise money for Barnardo’s at justgiving.com/fundraising/eatonteddyair