With over 20 years dedicated teaching experience, I have always thought that education, teaching and learning should extend beyond the classroom not only to enthuse but to also inspire students to experiences and potential professions when they leave school. This year, I was given the opportunity to organise a trip for our KS4/5 students to CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Myself, Ms Burraston (Head of EAL) and 13 students travelled to what is dubbed the world’s largest science experiment, the Large Hadron Collider, which brings together, through unique international collaboration, some of the world’s best and most talented scientists and engineers.
The aims of the trip were to;
- Provide a unique opportunity to see and experience closely the most exciting physics research lab in the world.
- Introduce students to university level scientific research and give them an opportunity to talk to researchers, professors and students from all over the world.
- Inspire students into this field of science and help them to develop new interests in: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Alongside this, the students were able to soak up, appreciate and compare the cultural differences between Geneva and Beijing. So the trip also incorporated tours of the United Nations headquarters and the Red Cross museum, two of quite possibly the most important international organisations in the world today.
Excursions on Lake Geneva and to Montreux to walk around and visit the 13th-century island castle, Chateau de Chillon, wound up what was one of the best foreign schools trips I have had the pleasure to help organise.
Please click the link below to read:
- CERN Trip blog by Year 11 Lea Rudolph
- CERN Trip blog by Year 12 Siddarth Varma
- Daily blog updates from the school trip
Update from: Mr. Michael Pinnock, Teacher of Science