A team of students from a Brampton high school has made history on the global stage of space design.

Eleven students from Central Peel Secondary School have won the grand prize in the Gerard K. O’Neill Space Settlement Contest, marking the first time a Canadian team has taken top honours in the prestigious international competition.

Organized by the National Space Society, the contest attracted nearly 24,000 students from 31 countries this year, challenging participants to design realistic human settlements in space.

The Central Peel team’s winning submission, “Project Saoirse,” outlines a detailed and technically advanced concept for a future space habitat, presenting a vision for how humans could live beyond Earth.

The school also performed strongly in a related competition focused on healthy living in space, earning seven awards, including four first-place finishes.

Students say the achievement reflects years of work — and a unique mentorship model. In addition to guidance from teacher and math department head Simona Matei, the team was supported by recent Central Peel graduates who returned to mentor current students through the complex design process.

The school has also done well in the past, taking top honours in individual categories.

“Four years of dreaming beyond what we thought possible, and now, winning the grand prize,” said Grade 12 student Mahimn Patel. “The stars feel a little closer because none of us reached for them alone.”

Matei said the win is the result of sustained effort and resilience.

“Over four years, I watched these students work relentlessly toward the goal,” she said. “They aren’t superheroes, but they do have superpowers — their ability to persevere and push through challenges. Their achievement is proof that hard work truly pays off.”

Here are the members of the winning team:

Mahimn Patel
Muhammad Rehan Jafar
Lance Li
Aromal Mihraj
Rhythm Bhullar
Ved Joshi
Siddhant Vyas
Deep Patel
Aarsh Patel
Thanosan Prathifkumar
Neel Pathak

The winning team from Central Peel Secondary School.

 


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