ANSTO and ASTA are partnering with CERN to offer two Australian science teachers the chance to participate in an all-expenses-paid* two-week summer school at the Large Hadron Collider.
Register to be a part of the exciting two-week program taking place in July 2026
The application process for the HST2026 programme is open until 12 January 2026. It is strongly recommended to complete and submit applications well before the deadline to avoid last-minute problems, which might result in an unsuccessful application.
About the competition
You will experience the atmosphere of frontier research at the LHC, meet with scientists and teaching colleagues from all over the world, and find new ideas for bringing modern physics into the classroom. Your regular short journals throughout the two weeks will be shared with a wide audience of fellow educators via ANSTO's and ASTA's social media platforms.
Before flying out to the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland, you will be provided with a detailed brief on ANSTO's and Australia's contribution to the international particle physics community, and your role and responsibility as representatives of Australia.
*Flights, accommodation and meals will be fully funded for the duration of the two weeks.
Past teacher experiences
"A highlight of the experience was the exclusive access to CERN’s state-of-the-art research facilities, including the Large Hadron Collider, Antimatter Factory, and major detectors such as ATLAS, CMS, LHCb and ALICE. These behind-the-scenes tours offered firsthand insight into the scale and sophistication of the world’s leading experimental physics infrastructure."
- Mark Judd, a Physics teacher from Lavalla Catholic College participated in the program in July 2025.
More about the event
This residential programme, which took place for the first time in 1998, is open to high school science teachers from around the world who would like to update their knowledge of particle physics, learn more about educational resources available, and collaborate with fellow science teachers of different nationalities.
The HST programme contains lectures, on-site visits, hands-on workshops, discussions, and Q&A-sessions. Furthermore, during the 2 weeks, all teachers will collaborate in several study groups on various topics related to particle physics and its integration in the classroom. All study groups will deliver their final reports at the end of the programme. Therefore, all applicants should:
- have a good working knowledge of the English language (the entire programme will be delivered in English)
- be committed to attending in full the 2 weeks of the programme (no late arrivals, no early departures)
For detailed information about CERN's international teacher programmes, their objectives and how to apply, please have a look at the FAQ.