In the early afternoon on Friday March 2^nd, ten Year 12 and 13 A-level and IB Physics students, accompanied by Mrs Williams and Mr Moyle, finally returned very tired but elated from their visit to CERN in Geneva. It did not seem like only three days since they had all met at 6.45am on the Tuesday morning for their departure by minibus to Bristol Airport, and little did they know when they set off what an effect the ‘Beast from the East’ would have on their return journey! What now follows is the students’ accounts of their very memorable trip.

Day 1

On arrival at Geneva airport, we made good use of the efficient Swiss train and tram system to get to the Geneva Youth Hostel, where we left our luggage in our rooms. We then went and visited the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum which was first opened in 1988. When we arrived at the museum, our eyes were captured by the petrified statues just outside the museum. They are a group of shrouded, life-size figures, designed by Swiss artist Carl Bucher, who denounce the violation of human rights. They perfectly match the ‘The Humanitarian Adventure’ theme of the exhibition in the museum, which presents three contemporary problems through distinct spaces, each of which have been created by a different architect: Defending human dignity, Reconstructing family links and Reducing natural risks. As we walked into the exhibition, we felt that we were engaged in an awareness-building experience even before we discovered the area’s information content.

There is a chamber of witnesses in every section of exhibition, where you have to touch their hands on the screens to listen to their stories. This made us feel like they were really standing in front of us and sharing their experiences. It connected our feelings and evoked our pathos for them. There was a particular Chinese girl who made a strong impression on me. She survived the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, which has been the most destructive disaster since the founding of the People's Republic of China. The Red Cross provided lots of relief supplies and aid materials to the victims and helped them to rebuild their lives. As a Chinese citizen myself, I was incredibly moved by the acts of the Red Cross.

After our trip to the Red Cross, we visited Lake Geneva. It is a lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is also one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. The view of the lake was so fantastic that everyone took some memorable pictures. Unfortunately, extremely cold weather had hit many parts of Europe and the temperature was near –5 °C, so we sadly we couldn’t see the iconic Jet d’ Eau, and we only stayed out for about 20 minutes before walking back to the hostel for our evening meal.

Day 2

Our S’Cool LAB day at CERN began with an early start and some powdery snow. We were looked after by a PhD student called Alex, who explained the plan: a tour, lab session, lunch, then two more lab sessions. The sessions were each taken by a different expert from CERN, all of whom had interesting and complex jobs in the 10,000-strong workforce. The tour featured a visit to CERN’s first ever accelerator and a presentation about the founding of CERN: an international organisation with the goal of scientific research independent of military interest. The international nature was clear at lunch, where conversations could be heard in at least three languages at any one time.

Lab sessions included building a cloud chamber, a kind of particle detector, which was exciting as we handled dry ice, requiring some fashionable gloves as the dry ice is around -78°C. Once we built them, we observed some fascinating phenomena in action, indicated by mesmerising trails. We also got to experiment with cathode ray tubes, and X-Rayed various objects. It was a fantastic day; we all learned a lot. But we were not quite done, as we had an exciting dinner engagement: we visited the Edelweiss Hotel for dinner, a restaurant designed to look like a traditional chalet. We were treated to a cheese fondue, sausages and chips and ice cream. For many of us, a cheese fondue was a new experience but we were all excited to try it. Along with the amazing food, we got to enjoy some live music including accordions, cowbells and other slightly weirder instruments.

There was also an alphorn, which is a type of horn several metres long and is quite difficult to play. We were able to try to play and some of us managed to produce a somewhat decent noise, while others struggled a little more. Overall, it was a very fun evening with lovely food and a wonderful atmosphere.

Day 3

On our third day we woke up to a Geneva enveloped in snow. Cars, buses, trucks were all struggling to move through the roads and were going at minimal speed. Our plan was to visit the League of Nations building. After getting the number 15 tram we were moving through a completely different surrounding to that of two days earlier. Everything looked blindingly white!

When we got into the UN building we were met by our guide, who told us many interesting facts and stories, explaining the previous and nowadays purpose of the United Nations. The tour began in the “new” building where we visited the most spectacular conference room, the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations room. We found it hard to look away from the stunning ceiling that was donated by the country of Spain, who commissioned the contemporary Spanish artist Miquel Barceló to create it in 2007. Walking through the halls, we could see all of the beautiful paintings, sculptures and antiquities that were donated by various countries. It was fascinating to see UNOG – the organisation which we learnt about in History – in real life, where all of the extremely important meetings had taken (and still are taking) place to solve some worldwide issues.

For lunch, we made our way to the Old Town of Geneva. I really liked this part of the day, as we were able to explore Geneva for a bit, enjoy some freedom in the town and take pictures before we made our way back to the UK. As we got off the tram, we split up in groups and agreed on a place to meet in two hours’ time. Understanding the language and loving to explore, I enjoyed guiding my group through the ancient maze of small streets of Geneva. First, we had to find a nice and cheap place for lunch, which was more difficult than we first anticipated. However, after trekking up the snowy hills we found a hidden crêperie, which served a variety of incredibly delicious savoury and sweet crêpes. The crêpes were huge and were served with a variety of toppings, which definitely gave us an unforgettable local experience and enough energy to continue our journey. We walked past some of the famous sites including the magnificent St. Pierre Cathedral and the picturesque squares. Our last stop was in a mall to do some quick Swiss chocolate and food shopping, before we made our way back to the meeting place and took some final pictures of the lovely sites covered in white snow, and also the Jet d’Eau when it was briefly turned on!

Whist our schoolmates were enjoying snow day in Bath, we struggled to get home. News of our cancelled flight arrived when we were visiting the United Nations, and just about when we began to despair, we were told that we had tickets for one of the few flights to Heathrow that were not cancelled. Exhausted from our stimulating trip in Geneva, we were ready to head home. The journey home was a blur. There was a train, a quiet spot in the airport and then a turbulent flight. The aircraft breathed a sigh of relief as it landed at 10.00 pm. A few cheers rang from the back, but we still had a long way to go! The travel agent had managed to get us overnight accommodation in the YHA London Thameside hostel. On the coach to the hostel I noticed that the snow seemed to have a narcotic effect on London. The roads were quiet and lights flickered for people to see, wrapped in their warm blankets.

Day 4

After catching a few hours’ sleep and a good breakfast we got on a coach which drove us from the hostel to Swindon train station, as there was no way we could drive to Bath because of the roads blocked by the snow that the ‘Beast from the East’ had brought. After a very cold wait on the platform we got on a train back to Bath. The ultimate physical challenge was what awaited us between the station and school. For those of us living in or near school, we had to haul our suitcases up the hill, which most of us would not even do on a normal day without snow! I was grateful that there were a few things that distracted us from the aches and pains, like bold skiers and children on sledges. One thing is for certain, we will remember this the next time we walk up this hill.

Written by Amber, Christina, Crystal, Evelyn, Ivon, Kaat, Maia, Sasha and Wendy

Y12 & 13 A-level and IB Physics students