Lauren Petrie

I attended the very first NPL academy in 2008, just after sitting my AS exams. It was a great way to see what scientists do on a day-to-day basis, and find out more about the work that goes on at NPL. I was with three others in Optical Radiation and Photonics and, as well as helping out with projects in the department, we also did lots of team building exercises, including making water rockets and giving a presentation about what we'd done at the end. It made me realise that I wanted a career in Physics, and that being a scientist was both interesting and rewarding.

I finished my A-Levels (Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology) the following year and went on to do a Physics degree at Oxford University. During my first summer I came back to NPL and did eight weeks' work experience in Radiation Dosimetry, which was brilliant and I got to operate the linear accelerator. I kept in touch with the team and was offered a PhD in my final year at university, conditional on getting a 2.1, which I did, so I'm back at NPL again.

I'm now spending the next three and a half years doing my PhD at NPL, in collaboration with the University of Surrey. It's all about measuring the dose of proton beams used in proton therapy - the future for cancer treatment. Proton therapy targets tumours much better than conventional radiotherapy, and gives less dose to surrounding tissue, which is especially important for children. It's exciting work as I'm at the cutting edge of my field, and will be travelling across the UK and Europe to carry out experiments on various proton beams.

The UK is getting its first two proton therapy centres at UCL Hospital (London) and The Christie (Manchester), which will be treating patients from 2017, so I'd love to be involved in some way with those after I finish my PhD. I'm torn between wanting to go into Medical Physics, and continuing working at NPL - the team are so friendly here, if NPL could install a proton accelerator then that would be perfect!

John Jarman

I attended the NPL Academy in 2010, after AS levels and in the middle of thinking about choices for university. I was working in the Temperature and Humidity group on moisture content analysis on washing powder, which provided me with experience of doing professional science as well as a fair chunk of time in the lab. Seeing and doing real-world physics helped me to put some of the things I was learning at sixth form into context, and introduced me to concepts that I've already found useful in practicals at university. The Academy also involved putting a presentation together to explain what it was we had been doing for the week (apart from making Module 7 smell like a laundry, of course!); as well as providing great experience in public speaking, the need to explain to a lay audience some physical principles was another introduction to a common challenge in science.

The week at NPL helped me to choose to apply for Physical Natural Sciences at Cambridge (a combination of Chemistry, Physics and Materials Science), which I've been enjoying studying at Robinson College for a year now. Applying to NPL for a placement over the vacation seemed like the obvious thing to do after my time in the Academy.

Coming back to NPL this summer has indeed been another great experience - I'm working in Nanoanalysis doing a variety of work (though not launching water rockets, this time!). I've found my time here so far very engaging, and it's led up to the fantastic opportunity to co-author a peer-reviewed paper on nanoparticles, which is an exciting area of new science. In addition to that, getting experience of research in the 'real world' will be, I hope, invaluable in my future career.

Oscar Denihan

I attended the NPL Academy in 2011 - it was my first real chance to truly experience physics outside the classroom and in a working environment. During my week I met many new people and learnt many new things. Working the fine details with the team in Optical Measurement taught me to appreciate even more that the realm of physics really is as big as the universe itself - there is so much to learn and explore of both the already-discovered and the yet-to-be-discovered. My placement reinforced the idea in my mind that Physics was the course for me as I was preparing my UCAS application. When it came to having interviews at various universities, my week at  the NPL Academy was actually a substantial talking point.

One of these universities was Imperial College London, where I am delighted to be starting a four-year Master's degree in Physics with a year in Europe. The year in Europe will see me going to Germany to continue studying my course (in German) and will give me the chance to fully experience a different culture, as well as develop German language skills. It's safe to say I can't wait! I believe in my mind that I have the NPL Academy partly to thank for all this.

For life after university, currently I plan to leave my career options open. I'd like to gain some better experience and knowledge of different areas of physics first to find out where my long term interests truly lie - studying physics at degree level will cater for a more in-depth exploration of its many aspects than I have experienced so far.

The NPL Academy is a fantastic opportunity for anyone aged 16 or so with scientific interests (particularly physics) and I'm very glad that I attended.