CERN Beamline for Schools Competition

Beamline for Schools is a physics competition run by CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, with DESY in Hamburg and the ELSA accelerator at the University of Bonn. High school teams from anywhere in the world write a proposal of up to 1,000 words for an experiment they want to run on a particle accelerator beamline. The five best teams travel to CERN, DESY or ELSA for about two weeks to carry out their experiment alongside scientists, with travel, accommodation and meals paid.

What you get:

• For the 5 winning teams: about two weeks at CERN (two teams), DESY (two teams) or ELSA (one team) to run your own experiment
• Full costs covered for winners, including travel, accommodation and meals
• Time working with scientists before the visit to refine the experiment
• Up to 50 shortlisted teams receive special prizes and printed certificates
• Prizes for the 3 best videos and optical telescopes for the 15 best outreach proposals
• A digital participation certificate for every valid proposal

What you'll do:

• Form a team of at least 5 students with an adult coach
• Write an experiment proposal in English of up to 1,000 words, submitted as a PDF
• Optionally add a one-minute video and a 200-word outreach proposal
• Attend online events starting November 2026

Key dates:

• Online events from November 2026
• Proposal submission opens December 2026
• Proposals close 12 March 2027 at 23:59 CET (Geneva time)
• Winners notified June 2027
• Experiments at CERN, DESY or ELSA in late September 2027

More information:

• Terms and conditions: https://beamlineforschools.cern/terms-and-conditions
• FAQs: https://beamlineforschools.cern/faqs
• Proposal guidelines: https://beamlineforschools.cern/proposal-submission
• Prizes: https://beamlineforschools.cern/prizes

• Open to students worldwide who are in high or secondary school, or in the gap between finishing school and starting university, when the proposal is submitted
• The terms say the competition is intended for students aged 16 to 19
• Students under 16 can join a team (anonymously or with parental consent), but only members aged 16 or over on the first day of the visit can travel if the team wins
• Teams need at least 5 members to be eligible to win the trip; up to 9 students and 2 coaches are invited
• Each team must be represented by an adult coach, often a teacher but it can be a mentor, parent or university student; coaches accompany winning teams for the whole stay
• Students may come from different schools or countries
• Proposals must be in English and written by the students themselves
• Individuals or teams under 5 may submit and can be shortlisted, but cannot win the trip