On 3 October, Year 11 GCSE science students attended a Careers in Science conference at Cambridge organised the Girls' Schools Association. The aim of the conference was to inspire young women to look at careers in science, and Physics in particular. It was targeted at both Sixth Formers and Year 11s, with a view to encourage and advise the latter on science-based A levels if they were interested in a career in this field.

The speakers were women of extraordinary talent and dedication working at the top of their respective fields including Dr Clark, Project Leader of the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge; Professor Driscoll, a research scientist working on materials such as superconductors; Professor Gibson, a Physicist is involved with the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland; Dr Ghosh, who designs structures which are safe in the event of an earthquake and Dr Symons, a structural engineer researching sustainable building materials and reducing carbon emissions.

The girls also had the chance to visit the hands-on career exhibitions promoting Nanotechnology, which is an integral part of our lives.

We thoroughly enjoyed the day and the girls were inspired to rethink their career paths.

Here's what they had to say about the experience:

“It was a very informative and useful experience of scientific careers for female scientists and what paths to take in order to achieve them.” Katie Moss

“I enjoyed learning about all the careers that women scientists have succeeded in. It was an amazing and useful experience for me as I wish to continue with a career in science.” Izzy Hindmarsh

“It was an amazing experience and really useful. It helped to see some of the scientific careers available to women.” Izzy Morris

“The day in Cambridge taught me that women can achieve what they want. I shall take this advice on board.” Sophie Turner

“I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.” Katie White

“I have been considering a career in science, particularly Medicine, for a while now but the trip to Cambridge taught me that there were many different, interesting careers in science. I thoroughly enjoyed the day.” Emma Ferreira.

“It was a fascinating day which gave us a glimpse of the world of work and university”. Elizabeth Burley