Somewhere around the age of 16 I had a furious row with my physics teacher, in which I suggested his interpretation of physics was so far removed from real science that it was little short of a lie.  The trouble was I had started to recognise the very basics of quantum mechanics - at least enough to know that Heisenberg had by and large destroyed reality.

Time has not been kind on physics - take an A level course and the first thing you are told is that everything you learned at GCSE was wrong - not just a simplification, but actually wrong.  Take a degree in physics, and you’ll probably be told the same about A level.  Try to come to terms with Entanglement (probably the greatest issue in physics today) and you enter not so much a parallel universe but a universe travelling in the opposite direction.

I have no idea how this issue can be dealt with, and sadly there is nothing in the government’s latest statement on science that suggests they even know there is an issue.   But nevertheless it has not stopped the Schools Minister from outlining a £140 million strategy to educate the next generation of scientists and mathematicians and help recruit and train more science and maths teachers without any recognition of the fact that in recent months New Scientist has run major articles on the fact that time either does not exist or else it runs backwards.

So, the Government wants the very best teachers to increase the number of young people opting for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and following a related career which will help the UK compete in the global economy.

And it also wants to ensure that lessons are lively for budding scientists, with more “flash bang” excitement to bring these fascinating subjects to life while maintaining academic rigour.

The £140 million package over the next three years is more than double the amount spent between 2005 and 2008.  It includes…

• £31 million for recruitment and retention including £11.4 million so that teachers can retrain to become maths, physics and chemistry specialists - every teacher who retrains will receive a financial incentive of £5,000;

• £50 million for continuing professional development including:

£18 million to fund the regional science learning centres plus continued funding for the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics;

£4.5 million for schools to encourage them to release teachers for professional development at our science learning centres;

• £34 million to help boost the number of young people studying science STEM subjects post-16 including up to £9 million so that more pupils can take the three GCSEs in physics, chemistry and biology;

• £9 million to improve pupils’ learning experience through enhancement and enrichment activities including doubling the number of science and engineering clubs in schools from 250 to 500.

Work on improving teacher training includes:

• A special partnership (called Transition to Teaching) between employers and the Training and Development Agency for Schools to attract more scientists and mathematicians into teaching. The programme will be formally launched in the spring and will begin training new teachers from the autumn;

• Continuing to pay the teacher training bursary for maths and science (£9,000) and the golden hello (£5,000); giving additional £1,000 payments to ITT providers for each physics or chemistry trainee teacher they recruit; offering additional courses to enhance physics, chemistry and maths subject skills for those entering teaching who do not have a recent degree in the subject; expanding the student associate scheme to give science and maths undergraduates a taste of teaching with a view to encouraging them to pursue teaching as their career.

The PISA study on the attitudes of 15 year olds to science found:

• 75 per cent agreed that they study science because they know it is useful for them;

• 71 per cent agreed that making an effort in science subjects is worth it because this will help them in the work they want to do later on;

• 71 per cent agreed that studying science subjects is worthwhile for them because what they learn will improve their career prospects;

• 54 per cent agreed that what they learn in their science subjects is important for them because they need this for what they want to study later on.

The report also found that although English teenagers say that studying science is useful for their futures, fewer say that they want to work in science-related careers or to study science. Although students agree that science is useful and beneficial, most do not wish to be involved with it in their future lives.

• 34 per cent agreed that they would like to work in a career involving science;

• 33 per cent agreed that they would like to study science after secondary school.

There’s more each day on the Education Blogs at [1] www.blog.educationmarketing.org.uk and the direct marketing blog at [2] www.blog.hamilton-house.com

Tony Attwood - phone 01536 399 000

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