Year 12 science students from Bicester have been inspired to follow a career in the industry following a visit to a "fascinating" facility in Oxfordshire.

The students from The Cooper School were invited to Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron, at Harwell Science Campus, near Didcot, on Thursday, October 24.

The electron accelerator propels electrons to almost the speed of light, thus producing beams of light 10 billion times brighter than the sun.

Harwell Science Campus near DidcotHarwell Science Campus near Didcot (Image: The Cooper School) The Cooper School students at Harwell Science CampusThe Cooper School students at Harwell Science Campus (Image: The Cooper School) These beams are funnelled into 32 laboratories, called beamlines, where scientists use them to examine various subjects, including new medicines, disease treatments, innovative engineering, and advanced technology.

The students learned how samples are analysed using the beams based either on how the light scatters off the surface of samples, how much light is absorbed and diffracted, or the fluorescence emitted by the samples.

These investigations allow scientists to determine the samples' structures down to the atomic level.

The Cooper School students at Harwell Science CampusThe Cooper School students at Harwell Science Campus (Image: The Cooper School) The students found the visit "fascinating", a spokesperson for the school said, and were inspired to pursue a career in science, engineering, technology, and maths.

The students said: "An amazing opportunity to see how all sciences are used in the world of work, and a fantastic chance to see how what we are learning at school is used in real life."

Diamond offers a variety of work placements for school students, three different level 3 apprenticeships, and a number of PHD studentships for those with a degree.