An organisation rich in ground-breaking achievements both in physics and technology and famous for its Nobel Prize scientists. For studying the tiniest constituents of matter to answer the biggest questions about the universe, it is the home of the large hadron collider that explores these mysteries by recreating conditions similar to those during the big bang.

With some exceptions, notably neutron-discoverer Sir James Chadwick and Nobel Prize winner in 1935, who in 1908 attended an interview by accident at the University of Manchester and was too shy to explain his mistake. Few people become physicists by chance. Whether it was a science-minded parent or friend of the family, an encouraging teacher, a visit to a lab or museum, a public figure, talk, book, film… something or someone awakened an innate curiosity.

Finding a crisp narrative that better reflects CERN’s research after the discovery of the Higgs boson 12 years ago, which captures the imagination of current and future generations, is difficult. What makes the physics of the infinitesimally small exciting for the public is also what makes it so difficult to communicate.

So, twenty-five curious RGS physicists took a trip to Switzerland which began with a visit the Tokamak à Configuration Variable (TCV) in Lausanne, where our budding scientists learned about the exciting potential of nuclear fusion for a new form of sustainable energy. 

They then visited the ultimate lab, CERN where they began with an introduction to CERN's history and a guided tour of the Synchrocyclotron, CERN's first particle accelerator. Next, the students visited the Data Centre, where CERN processes the petabytes of data generated by various experiments.

These photographs have been reproduced by kind permission of Oli Persaud, Year 13.

About CERN

CERN was established after the Second World War by a handful of Europe’s leading scientists and diplomats with a mission to bring excellence in scientific research back to Europe and foster peaceful collaboration amongst nations. Today, CERN has 24 Member States, 10 Associate Member States, and a vibrant community of 17 thousand people, representing more than 110 nationalities. With many mysteries of the fundamental nature of the Universe still to be unravelled, CERN is preparing to continue this inspiring journey of exploration.

The Cern Accelerator Complex

The scale of the Circular Collider is huge. It crosses two countries and is 27 km in circumference, equivalent to London Underground's Circle Line. Click on the picture to find out more.