Eighty students in year ten at Camborne Science and International Academy recently took part in a STEM focused careers event at Nexus, the school's centre of excellence.

“The day included a number of different activities aimed to give students a greater understanding of the vital role that STEM careers have in society,” said Dr Jo Foster, director of Nexus and the Gifted STEM programme. “The event was run in association with the Institute for Research in Schools, and was part of the annual IRIS CERN Symposium which was simultaneously being held at Sterling School in Scotland and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxford.”

The event included presentations by students from CSIA and Callington Community College who have carried our real scientific research using equipment and data provided by IRIS, as well as a live link to the Appleton Rutherford Laboratory.

“Our Nexus event began with some amazing practical workshops," added Dr Foster. "The students had the opportunity to experience being engineers when they build their own particle detectors. They also learnt how radiation workers can calculate half-life and even how astronomers work out what distant stars are made from.”

The students then worked with Mike Grocott, from Space Education Adventures, who made a model comet from dry ice before highlighting the many opportunities available in the UK Space industry. The students also heard from Dr Barry Dillon, a post-doctoral researcher in theoretical particle physics from Plymouth University and Claire Eason Bassett the owner of Mackerel Sky, who both talked through how they use STEM in their careers every day.

Principal at CSIA, Ian Kenworthy, said: “STEM is vital to our education system because of the incredible impact these subjects have in our society and our lives. There are so many careers which require STEM specialism and with demand outstripping supply, we embrace every opportunity to inspire our next generation.”