While the majority of pupils had their first lie-in of the holidays – 20 Upper Fifth and Sixth form pupils were up bright and early for a 8.00am Manchester Airport meet up. They were met by Mrs Prince, Mr Wright and Mrs Brown and bound for Geneva, for three days of cultural and scientific education.

Day 1 – Thursday
A really smooth check in and arrival meant we arrived in Geneva airport on time, immediately impressed by the stunning Swiss Alps which surrounded us. We commuted into the centre by one of the super efficient trains in which pupils were very keen to avail of the novelty of sitting upstairs. After checking in, we headed straight out for a blustery walk around Lake Geneva and took some pictures with the famous Jet d’Eau. Students were keen to stock up on some European snacks before we headed back to the accommodation for our evening meal. After dining together, quiz night arrived with four teams competing for the prize. Even after a dodgy performance in Mr Wright’s Disney film round, the ‘men in STEM’ emerged victorious before turning in after a long day.

Day 2 – Friday
An early start saw us again head to the lake, where this time we took a boat trip across to Geneva’s beach on the other side. We were greeted by a wonderful rainbow through the Jet d’Eau before splitting into three groups for our chocopass tour. Pupils were given maps of 10 independent chocolate makers in the city, and their pass enabled them to enter and listen to a brief history of the store and how they make their treats. This was followed by a tasting, and they were also given a selection to take with them. A firm favourite being the delicious hot chocolate from Bonbonniere! After choosing lunch – we finally embarked on our journey by tram to CERN – 30 minutes north of the centre. After exploring the first exhibition on ‘acceleration’, where we saw a Proton Synchrotron in action and pupils enjoyed competing in various interactive exhibits. We then met ****, Particle Physicist working on the ATLAS experiment and our tour guide for the afternoon. Pupils were captivated by his knowledge as he guided us around the ALICE experiment and the CCC (CERN control centre), where we crossed into France to visit the huge site. On returning to Geneva we ventured out to eat at the Hamburger Foundation, before heading back to the hostel to prepare for an early departure on Saturday morning.

Day 3 – Saturday
An even earlier wake up call for a 7.00am breakfast was needed for us to check out and also head back to the CERN campus. Saturday morning was the long awaited workshop in which pupils would get to create their own cloud chamber to monitor background particles in a similar way to physicists at CERN. Students were very excited to work in small groups with another of the extremely knowledgeable scientists using dry ice and isopropyl alcohol. They then watched amazed as they could see trails of condensation left by electrons, muons and positrons in their tank. There was deep discussion over the shapes and frequency observed and some groups were even lucky enough to see a rare proton giving the biggest disturbance. We then had enough time to visit the other two exhibitions, learning about the origin of the Universe and how other detectors in CERN work. Straight from here it was a quick journey back to the airport for our flight home after a jam packed 3 day scientific adventure. We already have plans to run the trip next year for our next cohort of Scientists – register your interest with your Science teacher before Christmas if you would like to attend!