Physicists go to CERN

Our Sixth Form students enjoyed a weekend of cutting-edge Physics in Geneva, learning about plasma and fusion.

The A Level Physics students first went to the Swiss Plasma Centre, where scientists are working on the fusion of plasma with the aim of contributing knowledge to the new fusion reactor ITER, being built in France. Our guide was extremely engaging and wowed the students with how fusion will be able to solve the world’s energy challenges, generating ten times more energy than will be required to run a reactor.

The next day was spent learning about the work that has taken place over the past few decades at CERN (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research) and getting to grips with the enormous experiments which led scientists to discover the Higgs Boson in 2012 and complete the particle model of Physics. The girls were privileged to interact with different Physicists who shared their experiences of collaborating on such a large, international project. Whilst in Geneva, the Sixth Formers also had great fun bowling, visiting the History of Science Museum and exploring the old town of Geneva.

The annual trip to Switzerland is one of many residential visits organised each year to encourage pupils to explore fascinating topics beyond the syllabus, helping to bring their learning to life and to make sense of the world.