Celebration time for centre keeping the flame of science teacher training alive

The National Science Learning Centre awards bursaries to allow primary and secondary schools to meets the costs of sending their teachers and technicians on residential training courses and provides extra funding to allow them to implement what they have learned in the classroom.

Bursaries are handed out through Project Enthuse – a scheme launched in 2008 and backed by charities, Government and big business to support science teaching.

It has just handed out its 7,000th bursary to Louise Jezzard, a chemistry teacher at Ripley St Thomas School in Lancaster.

She said: “I found the National Science Learning Centre’s course to be incredibly stimulating, increasing my subject knowledge and inspiring me to take a new and different approach when teaching chemistry to our 11- to 16-year-olds.

“This change in my teaching is already showing a positive impact.”

Yorkshire schools have been major beneficiaries of the bursary with more than 500 given to teachers in the region in the last academic year.

Almost a quarter of the science teachers trained at the National Science Centre are from the Yorkshire region.

The National Science Learning Centre is run by Myscience – an initiative set up by Sheffield Hallam University and the White Rose University Consortium – comprising the universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York.

One of the major backers of Project Enthuse is the Wellcome Trust, a leading and health and science charity. Claire Matterson, its director of medical humanities and engagement, said: “The future of science depends on the quality of science education today, but in order to have a high standard of teaching educators need access to high quality, continuing professional development throughout their careers.

“As of today, Project Enthuse has provided bursaries to a remarkable 7,000 teachers and technicians to attend courses at the National Science Learning Centre – courses with proven benefit to science teachers and their students.”

Yvonne Baker, chief executive of Myscience said: “It’s fantastic that in a relatively short space of time Project Enthuse has had such an impact, enabling so many teachers and technicians to participate in the highly effective professional development programme.”