The Physics Factory: Bringing teachers together to talk the wonder and thrills of physics.
Guest Post blog by Gareth Sturdy, physics teacher and co-ordinator of The Physics Factory
Gareth Sturdy has been a teacher since graduating from the University of Liverpool in 1993, and currently splits his time between teaching physics at the East London Science School, coordinating the Physics Factory and worrying about the fortunes of Arsenal FC.
Don’t be misled by her stern portraits: Marie Curie, who died 80 years ago this summer, approached her work with wonder and imagination. “A scientist in his laboratory,” she wrote “is not a mere technician; he is also a child confronting natural phenomena that impress him as though they were fairytales.”
Summer is a particularly sensitive time for those interested in the young and science. As A-level and GCSE results are published, will we again be enchanted with the fairytale of continuous grade improvement?
Actually this year could be a different story for the first time in ages. Like Cinderella in reverse, students who thought they were going to the freshers’ ball are now worried they may not be. The Department of Education (DofE) has pushed for a tougher academic climate in schools, more rigorous assessment and an end to the re-sit culture. The first effects of this tectonic shift are about to be felt. Many students believe it’s a shift of the goalposts – what if last year’s A grade marks are only worth a B now? Yet universities welcome the attempt to close the gap between the feel-good fairy story of results headlines, and the more sober reality of what students actually know when they turn up.