Earlier in the week a group of Year 12 Computer Science students met up with others from Sutton High and Sheffield High at the University of Hertfordshire. Together they have been involved in a space technology project, running online amongst the schools every Tuesday afternoon, and this was the first opportunity to meet in person.
The trip provided an opportunity for students to further their understanding of how computers collect, process and attempt to interpret large quantities of data. They gathered data from sensors built into our phones from the accelerometer and then wrote a program in Python to analyse it. They will then apply this knowledge to interpret data from telescopes, which will hopefully include data from the recently launched James Web telescope.
The day concluded with a visit to the Engineering department where the students heard about how computer modelling was used in aeroplane design and were able to experience their flight simulators.
From Belle, Year 12:
On Monday 17th January I had the amazing opportunity to go down to Hertfordshire University with the other students that are attending the space course at Oxford High along with 4 students from two other schools in the GDST. We began the day in the Department of Computer Science where we were taught about sensors and their uses by Dr Daniele Ravi. After lunch in the university cafe we went to the Department of Aeronautics where we all had an opportunity to take off, fly, and land two simulators – one for a single engine plane and another dual engine plane. The first was very realistic with motion simulation and the second was based in London city airport and used three projectors to create an immersive atmosphere. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and it has given me a useful insight into what I plan to do for my future career.
