Imperial Collage Trip

 

Recently the Engineering class in year 10 at Newstead Wood School visited Imperial Collage. It was such an amazing experience, especially since our ‘tour guide’ was an ex Newstead student who went to and now works at the collage, which is an incredible achievement. We had the chance to see equipment and rooms usual visitors wouldn’t be able to see, such as the electron microscope and a really interesting instrument called the sharpie, which measures the resistance of different metals e.g. aluminium has low resistance and zinc has high resistance because it dissolves all the force energy really fast. See, by you just reading this learnt something new, so think about how much we learnt the whole day. 

 

There were also other machines that measured ductility, electricity and lots of other factors in all sorts of materials, even chocolate. As well as this, we also got a little taste of what it would be like studying there, working in classrooms, doing some activities students would do and eating in the canteen with all the students. I was amazed by how many different people there were that came from all over the world just to study there. If that doesn’t convince you that this is an incredible university, then I don’t know what will. We talked about how to actually be able to attend such a university as Imperial, and although it includes lots of extreme hard work and amazing grades, I might consider studying there in the future. All the students we saw working there, seemed to be enjoying their time and learning so much every hour. The professors also seemed to be extremely supportive and very knowledgeable about their field. I found it quite interesting to see how students test and assess different products and materials for different clients and big companies. These massive businesses really put all their trust into the hands of the students, and honestly, I would probably do the same. They are all so passionate about what they do, and clearly have extended knowledge on the subject.

 

Although there were some questionable parts of the collage, like a room full of random body parts that we unfortunately could not see, for health and safety reasons, it was a really worthwhile and helpful trip. It has motivated me in my own engineering studies, so I can maybe be as passionate and smart as the students and has really helped me better my understanding of the subject as a whole.

By Isabella Gilson