Physics students visited Imperial College, London on Tuesday afternoon.  They heard presentations given by 2nd year mechanical engineering students on technical subjects that they must give as part of their degree course.  The Imperial students were assessed on their presentations and how they answered questions by a course tutor.  The topics were completely of their own choosing and ranged from the aerodynamics of a badminton shuttle cock (apparently the feathers are all from the left wing of ducks/geese so they always spin in the same direction!), the design of wind turbines and whether the rollercoaster of Phineas & Ferb would actually work!  
Our students were able to see topics they had learnt about at A level discussed and used in the presentation and they also asked a huge number of varied and interesting questions. They were amazing!  Before we left, they had time to ask the Imperial students about university life, studying engineering and about living in London.  A great trip!