A VISIT to the frontier of scientific experimentation proved to be an inspiring experience for a Milford Haven physics teacher.

Earlier this year, sixteen forward thinking teachers, including Ian Gow head of science, physics and electronics at Milford Haven School, took the opportunity to take part in a prestigious trip to CERN, home of the Large Hadron Collider, the multi-billion pound machine which seeks to simulate the instant following the Big Bang.

Since then teachers have been using the knowledge and experience gained from the fascinating trip to inspire students and encourage them to embrace science, as well as developing resources to share with other science teachers in Wales to use next academic year and beyond.

Ian Gow said: “It’s always been my ambition to go to CERN, so to be given this opportunity to go out there for four days was absolutely fantastic. It was a great experience in such an interesting environment.

“In terms of the development of science there are still so many questions to be answered, and it was great to be immersed in this and have the opportunity to bring this knowledge back to the pupils and give them the chance to be part of this and develop their enthusiasm for the subject.”

CERN, which is the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, conducts the most ambitious experiments ever undertaken in the field of particle physics. The teachers were chosen to study this work first hand as part of the Welsh Government’s Focus on Science campaign, designed to get more young people interested in pursuing scientific careers.

The aim of the trip was to give teachers the opportunity to listen to lectures and hear about CERN’s facilities, functions and operation from the scientists and engineers who work there.

The teachers involved also attended an event at Techniquest in Cardiff where they presented their feedback from the trip and discussed how the content of the visit could be further used to promote science as a subject and career choice for today’s young people.