If this sounds like something that may earn you a week’s detention, then you’d be wrong.

A science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) team from Griffith High School recently travelled to Woolongong to compete at the Aeronautical Velocity Challenge.

Competing for the first time, the students from GHS not only made it to the state finals, but they came runner up overall.

Teams were tasked with designing the best bottle rockets and propeller powered planes they could. GHS showed early on they would be no pushovers.

“Nobody else really went for the long wingspan plane (in the height competition),” Alexander Martin said.

“We were the highest by about three times the nearest competitor.”

Alexander said it was all about trial and error.

“The first plane that we made, which was a very basic plane took about three hours to build but the planes after that took about 40 minutes to an hour,” he said.

“Then after you build them you modify them, add things, take away things.”

While the bigger plane made it back in one piece, the same can’t be said about the ‘speed’ plane.

“At the end of the day we had dogfights,” Alexander said. “Pretty much what happens with those, the planes try to build up as much speed as you can (going around in a circle) and the first plane to knock the others out wins.

“We didn’t really practice dogfights and that’s where the big points went.”

The GHS plane didn’t survive.

GHS teacher Ian Preston was pleased with how the team went, but he said it was more important to build a culture around learning.

“It's also trying to create some interest in the whole school for kids to try and get into science, technology, because that's where the jobs will be in the future,” he said.

“It's surprising the amount of kids that would stop and look at them when they're making the bottle rockets and being like, 'that's pretty cool.' It's about putting that theory into a practical use.”

The bottle rocket team were runners-up in the distance challenge and also won the overall best aesthetics award. The propeller powered plane team had great success as they won the height challenge easily and they also won the speed challenge. The powered plane team won the encouragement award.