CERN trip to Geneva 

Last week, me and a group of students had the extremely fortunate opportunity of visiting Switzerland in which our education continued to thrive. Between going to museums of both science and history, we were also able to view and learn from some of Geneva's notable landmarks, such as the Jet d'Eau, the tallest fountain in the world. It's a hydraulic plant that was originally built in 1886 to control and release excess pressure. Who knew something built simply to fix an engineering problem could be such a remarkable symbol? We were also granted the luxury of a trip to CERN, Europe's council for nuclear research, where we explored the wonders of particle physics. We were able to see models of the site's particle accelerators and how they worked, particle beams of opposite directions travelling at the speed of light guided by magnetic fields at an attempt to create new particles. Certainly an intriguing experience in which plenty knowledge for physics and the future was gained. On our final day we were lucky enough to visit the United Nations! Through a tour of the place we apprised about the inner-workings of the UN, its pillars and history etc. It was amazing to be able to be on the grounds of such an important place, in which countries around the globe could collaborate to discuss issues (in meetings we were partially able to watch!)

Overall visiting Geneva was an incredibly fun and informative trip, and I'm so grateful to have gone and learn with my friends.

Louise-Anne D, year 10

Every minute spent in Switzerland was such a contrasting experience to daily life in London - from the sublime McDonald's to the bustling tram. The museums were really interesting, and we learnt (through independently-carried out experiments and activities) about the force of gravity and magnetic fields. We sipped freshly-made smoothies nearby, while someone's speaker kept the music going all day, resulting in a few improvised karaokes on the tram back to the hotel. CERN, although a notably hot day trip, was highly educational and informative, and we were given expert demonstrations on the inner functions of the Large Hadron Collider. A truly unforgettable experience.

Isabel Lopez, year10

Last week, we had the amazing opportunity of visiting CERN in Geneva, Switzerland and we had a great time. As A Level physics students it was an enriching experience seeing how what we learn in class is used in the outside world. While there, we were able to see different parts of the collider including the main central hub across the border into France. As well as this, we met and spoke to many experts who worked there in their different professions, including a variety of engineers and physicists. It was really interesting to see their take on the work being done there and how they got into their field. Overall we really enjoyed the experience and were glad we had the chance to see and learn about the hadron collider.

Lydia Sutton, year 12