STUDENTS from a Dorchester school are taking scientific inspiration from the Land of the Rising Sun.

The Thomas Hardye School has been invited to take part in the UK Japan Young Scientist Workshops at the Universities of Cambridge and Kyoto.

The scheme organised by the Clifton Scientific Trust will involve seven of the school’s top Year 12 scientists, with Henry Love, Rachel Newman, Mirabelle Knowles and Conal Judd-English heading to Cambridge to work with Japanese students on scientific research projects with the help of top academics.

Peter Dillistone, Elizabeth Martin and Lucy Bradbury will then head to Kyoto as the school aims to build links with Japanese schools. Funding for the two trips has come from the Ogden Trust, the Clifton Trust, the Thomas Hardye School and Dorchester Area Schools Partnership and contributions from private sponsors including the chairman of The Wasabi Company and Old Hardyean Peter Old.

Dr David Brown has also offered financial help and advice for the Cambridge workshop and will visit students at the session.

Rory Gallagher, who teaches French and Japanese at the Thomas Hardye School, has lived and worked in Japan and will accompany the students.

He said he was excited about the opportunity to create links with Japanese schools and universities. Mr Gallagher said: “This trip is a fantastic opportunity for the students and for the school, and taps into a widening interest in Japan and Japanese culture.

“The school will be offering beginners’ lessons in Japanese and Russian from next year, and we hope that this project will encourage more students to become interested in languages and in international cooperation.”

Student Conal Judd-English said: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to take part in such a unique and prestigious event, one that will undoubtedly be invaluable for my future aspirations in science. It will also be great to experience a completely different culture that the Japanese students will bring to the workshop.”

Fellow pupil Lucy Bradbury added: “When I heard about the trip to Kyoto I was instantly interested and excited about the opportunity.

“I am most looking forward to experiencing an entirely new and different culture, and, of course, also to the project we will be undertaking, which includes areas of science that are completely new to me.”