Programme by Session

School students rarely experience science in the same way as researchers and educational research has highlighted the limited impact of typical STEM outreach interventions. However, to address this there are a number of growing efforts for school students to undertake independent project work with direct links to current scientific research.

Queen Mary University of London’s Physics Research in School Environments (PRiSE) programme is one such example. Aimed at 14-18 year olds, the programme currently consists of four projects whereby students and teachers are supported by active researchers. 50 diverse London schools have participated in these 6-month long projects thus far.

We present our template for these projects and their evaluation that can easily be adopted by other institutions. The programme has shown the significant benefits such experiences have on both students and teachers, such as increased confidence and skills development. Furthermore, developing and delivering these projects can also impact upon researchers giving new context to their research topic and, in a small number of cases, producing novel and unexpected scientific results. We finally highlight elements of good practice and the support available to apply this template to your own research area within your institution.