Priestley students are “top of the masterclass”

SCIENTISTS of the future discovered more about the technologies behind 21st century particle accelerators at masterclass at the STFC Daresbury Laboratory, near Warrington
A-Level Physics students from Priestley College were among those who attended the Cockcroft Institute at the laboratory for the annual Particle Physics Masterclass.
When the students from the gathered colleges had their own knowledge tested, Priestley’s Kurtis Markie finished top of the class.
Tutor Tory Mullineux said: “To have the Sci-Tech campus on our doorstep provides an unmissable opportunity for our students.
“The laboratory has close links with CERN and works to push the cutting edge of particle accelerator technology so it is an inspiring place to be for the students.”
The masterclass programme included a history of the Daresbury Laboratory, a lecture on particle physics delivered by the University of Manchester, scientific exercises and demonstrations as well as a Virtual
Reality interactive tour of the VELA particle accelerator.
Later students were quizzed on what they had learned with former Cardinal Newman High School  pupil Kurtis, who studies Computing, Electronics and Physics at Priestley, scoring the highest mark.
He said: “I was able to understand much more about particle accelerators, a topic which isn’t vastly covered on my Physics A-Level course, giving me a great insight into the fantastic applications they’re used for.”
Former Bridgewater High pupil Yi Chen Hock, who studies Electronics, Further Maths, Physics and Music at college, finished third in the masterclass quiz.
In a further success she recently received a Gold Medal in an AS Physics Olympiad and goes through to the next stage where she will be up against young and brilliant minds from across the country.
“The Gold Award and my result in the quiz has boosted my confidence in pursuing my aspirations of becoming an engineer and getting good enough grades for the universities I want to apply for,” said Yi Chen.