For the second year, the NQCC is supporting the ‘Quantum Experience Summer School’, delivered by the University of Oxford’s Physics Department. This is an opportunity for year 12 students in the Oxfordshire, Berkshire or Buckinghamshire area to spend a week experiencing life as a quantum physicist.
About the summer school
The summer school will give 10-20 local A-level (or equivalent) students a taster of life as a quantum physicist. The placements will include quantum physics tutorials, theoretical and experimental, some coding experience, and visits to local quantum technology companies. You will get first-hand lab experience with researchers in this cutting edge field and meet other likeminded students. This year there will be introductory work for the students in advance of the Year 12 Quantum Experience Summer School. The Year 12 Quantum Experience Summer School has been made possible by generous support from the NQCC. The deadline for applying to the summer school is Friday 14th June.
In 2024 the summer school will run Mon 29 July – Fri 2 Aug 2024, 9am – 5pm each day. Students are expected to attend every day for the full week, if they accept the offer of a placement, unless they have a exceptional reason that this is not possible.
The summer schools are open to students who are:
- currently in Y12 (for academic year 23-24)
- attending a non-fee-paying school
- living in Oxfordshire, Berkshire or Buckinghamshire.
Priority is given to young people whose enthusiasm aligns with the specific projects and who look to benefit the most from the experience. Information about how we prioritise students can be found here.
Once you have applied, we will let you know whether you have been successful, and will offer you a placement on one of the summer schools. On the Physics Summer School you will also be assigned a topic (e.g. particle physics, laser physics etc.). You may either accept or reject that placement, but we will not generally be able to accommodate changes of topic. If there is a particular area of physics that you are interested in, please let us know in your personal statement on the application form, so that we can do our best to match students with placements.
About last year’s summer school
Our 2022 Quantum Immersion Summer School pilot ran on 1st – 5th August 2022. You can read about it here.