Over the Easter holidays, twelve pupils from the Computing department travelled to Silicon Valley, the global epicentre of technology and innovation. The trip combined industry insights, hands-on workshops, and cultural experiences, providing pupils with a first-hand look at pioneering companies and technologies. Throughout the week, they also connected with several Old Oundelians who are making their mark in the tech world.

Day 1: From YouTube HQ to AI Conversations with History
The first stop was YouTube headquarters, hosted by Matthew Thomas (OO), who gave pupils an insider’s perspective on working at one of the world’s largest tech platforms.

Later that day, they visited Delphi.ai, a company creating AI-driven conversational clones of historical figures, where they met Tika Capon (OO), a 2023 trip alumnus who was interning there during his degree at Tufts University. After a thrilling ride in a self-driving Waymo taxi, the group toured Poseidon Aero to learn about their drone seaplane technology. The evening was spent at the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment (MADE), where pupils went down memory lane to play classic computer games.

Day 2: A Journey Through Computing History
Continuing the historical theme, the second day began with a visit to the Computer History Museum, home to a collection of artefacts documenting the evolution of technology. In the afternoon, pupils enjoyed an immersive virtual reality experience at SandboxVR, where they got a taste of how VR is reshaping entertainment and training.

Day 3: Exploring San Francisco’s Past and Present
On the third day pupils explored San Francisco, visiting Alcatraz Island, and then racing through San Francisco on a scavenger hunt that included discovering retro arcade games still in operation.

Day 4: Cutting-edge Science and Silicon Chips
At the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, pupils saw cutting-edge 3D printing technologies, offering a glimpse into the future of manufacturing. Later, they explored the Intel Museum to understand how silicon chips are designed and made.

Day 5: From AI Startups to Networking Skills
The day started at Primer, where pupils met Rob Westbury (OO), who left Oundle after his GCSEs to work in Silicon Valley and now leads a team of 25 engineers. After lunch at BOX in Redwood City, they received practical advice on networking and building professional profiles, with an introduction to LinkedIn. In the evening, a workshop organised by the aunt of Rohan (G) offered a hands-on session on coding simple AI agents, giving the group a taste of the next frontier in artificial intelligence.

Day 6: Big Tech and Big Trucks
Pupils toured the visitor centres of Apple and Google before meeting Sasha Adam (OO) at Intuit, known for QuickBooks and other financial software. Later, they visited Aurora, a company at the forefront of autonomous vehicle technology, where Oli Baseley (OO) introduced them to the first autonomous articulated trucks preparing to hit US highways.

Day 7: University Life and Cyber Security
At UC Berkeley, the group met current student Siddarth Veerapaneni (OO) for a campus tour and a chat about applying to US universities. Later, they visited GitHub HQ and Cloudflare, and saw the lava lamp “wall of entropy”, which creates randomly generated numbers for cyber security.

Day 8: A Day in an American High School
On the final day they visited Prospect High School, where pupils attended three 90-minute lessons and experienced the US education system. They were also introduced to the school’s impressive robotics project, built in the back of a history classroom, as American schools often lack dedicated Design and Technology departments.

The trip was a breathtaking tour of the big brands and start-ups that have changed our world, as well as the history and future of innovative technology. It was also a valuable demonstration of the global reach of the Oundelian network, highlighting the possibilities for anyone willing to dream big and think differently.