On Wednesday, along with some of my Computer Science peers, I attended a trip to Hertfordshire University to see the Spectra Building. This building facilitates the physics, computer science and engineering units of the university. I found the experience very eye-opening and my favourite part of the building was the astrophysics department, where there were multiple flight simulators and where university students had been designing their own model planes. After that we took a tour of the campus, including the accommodation. This really helped to visualise what life as a university student might look like. The whole trip was very interesting and I extremely enjoyed it.

Corin N- Year 9

On Wednesday, 14 computing students went to Hertfordshire University. In the morning, we visited the new £100 million building which is home to physics, engineering and computer science. Some of the things we saw there were: the flight and driving simulator – which was one of the highlights of the trip for me, the human-robot interaction (HRI) research and the advanced engineering sector including testing cement, constructing cars and planes/drones. Just before lunch we received a presentation about career paths after secondary school.

After lunch, we were given a tour by two of the students studying there. They showed us the accommodation, where we got an insight into how they live if staying on campus. We also saw their Learning Resource Centre, which is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Additionally, we saw their science building, film, music and media building and art/design gallery.

Overall, I really enjoyed this trip and would recommend it to Y8s, who are taking computer science, as it gives a helpful insight into university life.

Timothy W- Year 9