Sheffield students given chance to visit Health and Safety England's specialist research centre

The visit, organised by HSE, encourages students to think about science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) as a future career.

Professor Andrew Curran, HSE’s director of science, said: “We are very proud of all our facilities and our specialist scientists, engineers and analysts at Buxton and this visit allowed students to speak to our inspirational scientists who were able to showcase some of their work first hand.

“We hope we’ve helped broaden the students’ views of hands-on science, technology, engineering, and maths by showing them areas of work they may not have considered before and how rewarding a career in STEM can be.

“Visits like this are really important as they can trigger a ‘wow’ moment for a student which inspires them to take a new direction in their career.”

A group of 21 students started the day with a tour of the wider site, looking at the experimental facilities and test rigs and received an overview of the type of projects and science-based work that has been conducted in Buxton over the years.

Smaller groups of students based on their A-level choices then spent time with relevant specialists including engineers, biochemists, fire and explosives specialists, analytical chemists, human factors specialists, toxicologists, noise and vibration specialists, ventilation specialists, and microbiologists.

HSE’s Science and Research Centre is set on a 550-acre site in Buxton, Derbyshire, and accommodates an impressive inventory of laboratory and large-scale testing facilities.