In January, the outreach team was among the first to move into the Ray Dolby Centre, alongside the Isaac Physics group. The corridors were quiet at first, but it's been a pleasure to watch the building come to life as more teams have joined us.

Despite the move, we continued to deliver our core events, including the Cambridge Physics Experience and the Cambridge Physics Centre Lectures. Our first event in the new Cavendish Laboratory was the final public lecture of the 2024-25 series in March, delivered by Professor Trevor Cox. Fittingly, he spoke about room acoustics—how architectural design affects sound—in the state-of-the-art Ray Dolby Auditorium. Students attending the talk were not only engaged by the content but also thrilled by the new surroundings. 

Our Cambridge Physics Experience days for secondary school students have continued to gain a lot of interest from across the country, with schools from as far afield as Manchester attending for the day. In March, we held our first outreach event in the new outreach space in the Ray Dolbe Centre. Students designed their own Mars rovers which were then launched from halfway up the atrium stairs. The new facilities worked brilliantly and will enable us to welcome even more students to future events.

This year, we also collaborated with Dr Sam Gregson—better known as the Bad Boy of Science—to deliver a science communication workshop for PhD students and researchers. Sam shared his personal journey into science communication and the insights he has gained along the way. While visiting the Cavendish, he also gave three spectacular talks to local secondary schools, using the discovery of the Higgs boson to explore the scientific method. He wrapped up with a public lecture at the Cambridge Physics Centre attended by over 200 students and community members. His interactive style kept all ages engaged and excited, offering a great example of how to make science memorable and accessible. 

We joined another new collaboration this year. The Cambridge Admissions Office have setup a hub in Rochdale. As part of this initiative, we partnered with The Ogden Trust and the Rochdale Development Agency to pilot a new programme, Think Like a Scientist, for upper primary school pupils. The six-month programme, launched in January, features monthly sessions designed to foster critical thinking, observational skills, and scientific reasoning. Thirty-five students from seven local schools took part. Each session focused on a step in the scientific method, supported by discussions about important traits such as curiosity, open-mindedness, and patience.

The groups were tasked with developing their own research question design experiments to explore them. My favourite question was “How can we stop the playing field getting so muddy so that we can go and play on it?”Another explored optimal locations for renewable energy sources in a bid to promote solar panels for their school. The final session will take place on 28^th June at Rochdale Football Stadium, where students will proudly present their findings to parents and carers.

As summer approaches, we’re preparing for a packed season of residentials and major events. A highlight will be the 40^th anniversary of the Physics at Work programme in September, which has been running since 1985. With 25 exhibitors already confirmed—the highest number since before the pandemic—we’ll be celebrating in style, taking over the entire Ray Dolby Centre and continuing the tradition in our new home.

On behalf of the Outreach Team, I would like to thank anyone who has donated towards our programme. Without your support we would not be able to run such a broad range of activities. I would like to leave you with a quote from a teacher about my colleague, Dr Steve Martin, at one of our recent events:

"The 1-1 attention you provided, alongside the clarity of your explanations and links to real-world situations, really allowed students to engage wholeheartedly with the session. Your calm and approachable manner also made them feel very at ease in a situation where many of them would have felt rather outside of their comfort zone."