17 November 2017
Members of Abingdon School's Science Factor Research Club attended the CERN@School Symposium at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory where pupils from several schools presented the results of genuine research projects they have been carrying out, with data and equipment made available through the Institute for Research in Schools. Keynote speakers included Dr Stephen Heywood from the Particle Physics Group at RAL, Dr Michael Campbell of the Medipix Detector Collaboration and Dr Chantelle Nobs of CCFE, Culham. Pupil presentations included a wide variety of particle physics investigations, ranging from the effect of cosmic rays on humans in space to the deployment of radiation sensors on autonomous boats for sampling at sea. The group from Abingdon presented a poster describing the results of an investigation they have carried out on angular variation of the radiation detected by the Medipix detector and which now needs further, numerical analysis. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Research in Schools, Professor Steven Rose, was particularly impressed with Abingdon's involvement, being the father of an OA.
