University takes schools group to CERN

Published: 14 October 2011

Over the last three years around 400 sixth-formers have experienced particle physics up close at the University

Over the last three years around 400 sixth-formers have experienced particle physics up close by attending a Particle Physics Masterclass in the University. 

But this year for the first time a group of the participants went on to spend three days at CERN, seeing the accelerators for themselves and being shown round the experiments by Glasgow physicists. LHC at CERN 

The visit was won by ten pupils from seven schools in the West of Scotland including the East End of Glasgow, Drumchapel, and Ayrshire, who had entered a competition run by the Particle Physics Group in the School of Physics and Astronomy, and Science Connects.

Dr Aidan Robson, who organised the masterclass and visit, said, "This is a great opportunity for school students because, by coming to the University, the pupils see that the CERN science they hear about in the news is happening right here in Glasgow". 

Dr Rebecca Crawford from Science Connects, who organised the competition, said, "CERN is an amazing, inspiring environment and it was wonderful to be able to offer a group of school pupils the chance to visit it". 

Glasgow physicists have been involved in the construction, operations and data analysis of two of CERN's LHC experiments, Atlas and LHCb, and produced some of the first physics results from the experiments, which were presented at conferences this summer.  Other sponsors of the schools visit were SUERC, The Ogden Trust, and CERN.


First published: 14 October 2011

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