We invite you to join us at Anglia Ruskin University for our new season of FREE evening lectures.
Our social calendar kicks off with a gathering on October 29th and then a Christmas get-together on December 10th. Please book your places via the event links – dates for 2027 will be published shortly.
We will also be taking part in the Chelmsford Science Festival, including the ever-popular Family Weekend and a gaming industry careers event for schools.
This year, our (ever-expanding!) programme of Christmas Lectures for schools includes talks on unsolved maths problems, the ice age and aliens.
Read on for further details of the evening talks.
As part of the upcoming Chelmsford Science Festival, we are thrilled to invite your school to participate in the Playable Worlds youth-led gaming fringe festival coming to Chelmsford this October.
We are officially booking school groups for our dedicated Careers Experience Day on Wednesday 21 October, and want to ensure your students have the opportunity to attend. This is open to years 9-11.
To sign your school up to this event, please complete the simple registration form at: https://forms.microsoft.com/e/r6HQT8wGBh.
Congratulations to everyone who won an award at the 2026 CSES TEXPO, which took place on Friday 26 June 2026 at Anglia Ruskin University.
We are very pleased to announce that the winners are as follows:
CSES hosted a three-day Summer STEM Challenge – our first since 2019 – over the period 28 to 30 July 2026. A lively and committed group of 32 students in Year 8 and Year 9, some travelling significant distances, attended across all three days.
The core delivery team comprised Ed Bye (lead organiser), David Humber and Wai Bhone Myat (Jayce), with additional support from Rebecca Lyall on Tuesday and Nisha Rai on Wednesday.
They delivered three days of high-energy, hands-on STEM fun. Students were fully immersed in launching rockets, building structures and discovering the excitement of practical engineering. Students also rose to the challenges of paper bridges, tensegrity models and geodesic domes. Even the toughest builds became moments of pride, with students celebrating successes, laughing through setbacks and showing real determination to make their structures stand tall.
Read on to find out more about the activities that took place...
Our Secretary, Wai Bhone Myat (Jayce), has been actively supporting a group of 90 international students (aged 14–17) from various countries during their two-week summer school stay at the Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) Chelmsford campus. In addition to his responsibilities as an ARU Student Ambassador, Jayce took the initiative to design, coordinate, and execute an enriching engineering taster session for the visitors.
Working closely with the international group leader, Jayce organised an afternoon "Egg Drop Challenge", which took place on Saturday 18 July 2026 and successfully attracted 20 enthusiastic students. The volunteering team included David Humber, Zayeem Mitayeegiri (our previous Secretary), and Ed Bye.
On Tuesday 21 July 2026, twenty-one CSES members enjoyed a visit to the Ray Dolby Centre, the new Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge!
First, under the expert guidance of the incredibly knowledgeable Dr Harry Cliff, the group were shown around the museum, where just a few display cases house some very significant artefacts dating back to the founding of the laboratory in 1874. Equipment used by James Clerk Maxwell, J J Thomson and Ernest Rutherford, to name just a few – which helped make some of the greatest scientific advances in our history – were brilliantly described by Harry.
As if that were not enough, the party then began a tour of the lab itself. With a new guide, Dr David Ward, they were taken into the extensive teaching and workshop areas of the £350 million building. The world-leading laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art clean rooms, every machine they could ever need, and the means – and the people – to manufacture any equipment that money cannot buy. David spoke extensively about the facilities, the laboratory's training programmes – including work experience for Year 10 or 12 students – and their collaboration with industry. The skilled technicians are able to produce equipment for businesses outside of the University.
