On 29th March 2023, Year 13 and 14 Maths, Physics and Software Systems Development pupils were given a fantastic opportunity to attend a lecture on the Standard Model of Particle Physics by Professor Alan Barr, a leading particle physicist from the University of Oxford.

Professor Barr, originally from Ballymoney, returned home to Limavady Grammar School to inspire the next generation of physicists in the quest to answer some of science’s biggest questions and to continue to revolutionise the way we understand the Universe.

Following the lecture, Professor Barr also delivered a masterclass in coding to the 11 Year 13 pupils currently participating in the Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS) project entitled Big Data: ATLAS. This project has been developed in conjunction with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the University of Oxford. The students have been analysing data from the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva and have gained experience in using the coding methods designed by particle physicists to find elementary particles.

At the end of June, the project participants will be attending the annual IRIS conference in Manchester to showcase the research they have completed.