We are pleased to advise the date for the 2026 CSES Schools' Technology Exhibition (TEXPO).
The dates will be as follows:
Please note that this is not the same as the provisional date (19 June) given in the call for expressions of interest. This is due to venue availability and we apologise for any difficulty this may cause.
Find out more about the competition here.
We will provide full details and open for registration in the new year.
The Chelmsford Science Festival Family Weekend was once again a great success seeing several thousand members of the public coming to the CSES activity area. Many favourite demonstrations from previous years were present including Magnetics, 3D Printing, Centre of Gravity and Force and Moment. The ever-popular Egg Drop also saw a return with over 220 participants over the two days, including some coming back to try and beat last year’s attempts! We had some very innovative designs and some very good results! For those interested, the winning score was 1.1g (the lowest shock registered by our "digital egg") achieved by Violet, on the Sunday.
In December we played host, with ARU, to students and teachers from all over Essex at our third annual series of FREE Christmas Lectures for schools.
The lectures are proving to be more and more popular each year – so much so that this time we had to offer two different speakers to satisfy demand! On Wednesday 10 December 2025, Professor Neil Lawrence, Deepmind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge, presented his lecture entitled “The Atomic Human”. Students were asked to think about what makes us human and Prof Lawrence explained why he thinks that Artificial Intelligence can never replace the human brain.
The following week we welcomed Grace Dickinson from Reptiles Etc. In a very different lecture, “Animal Encounters”, she spoke about relationships between humans and animals throughout time. From the earliest encounters with wolves, to rats used to locate landmines, Grace explained how animals work with humans to benefit us all. She went on to speak about her work as an “Animal Wrangler” in the film industry and the lecture ended with some thrilling demonstrations, including a Barn Owl flying just above the heads of the students!
Read more: AI and Animal Wrangling: The CSES/ARU Christmas Lectures 2025
In October 2025, we hosted 110 students from seven schools at an event, designed with young people for young people, to showcase the career opportunities available within the game design industry.
Organised by CSES in collaboration with Anglia Ruskin University and Culture Chelmsford (including Spark! Youth Forum), and supported by Essex County Council, Game On! was a half-day industry spotlight event held as part of the Chelmsford Science Festival.
In workshops, presented by industry professionals and academics expert in the field, students created an audio clip to accompany an action scene, thought about the development of games from the very first idea through to marketing the finished product, had a go at creating their own simple games, heard about a day in the life of a professional games developer and learned about the educational routes and skill-sets needed for success in the field.
In November 2025, Anglia Ruskin University’s Chelmsford campus was filled with curiosity and energy as the ARU STEM Society hosted Hack‑a‑ton 25. This two-day event brought together students from various backgrounds—including engineering, business, health, and law—to tackle real-world challenges through creativity, collaboration, and conversation.
