Kent Physics Day at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Faversham RM298 / B215

The Kent Physics Day is back for a sixth year and we will meet face-to-face this year at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Faversham.

All are warmly invited to this full day of training and workshops for all teachers of physics (whether specialist or not), ECTs, trainees and technicians. This fully-funded day includes refreshments and lunch. 

There will be sessions covering key physics topics for KS3, KS4 and KS5 with lots of hands-on practical activities and ideas for making your teaching even more engaging, all delivered by expert physics teacher trainers. It's a chance to network with colleagues from across the region and find out about resources available locally. Whilst the programme is primarily designed with teachers in mind, technicians may benefit from the more practical workshops.

We are delighted to announce 2 keynote speakers who will be joining us on the day:

James de Winter (University of Cambridge School of Education) and Dr Jess Wade (author, lecturer and EDI advocate)

James de Winter

James de Winter has spent most working days since 1995 either teaching physics or thinking about teaching physics. He has led the PGCE physics course at the University of Cambridge for many years. He also works with the Ogden Trust and other education organisations in various roles which he characterises as “being nice to physics teachers for a living”.

Dr Jess Wade

Dr Jess Wade is a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Lecturer in Functional Materials in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London. Her research considers new materials for optoelectronic devices, with a focus on chiral organic semiconductors and how to optimise these chiral systems such that they can absorb/emit circularly polarised light as well as transport spin-polarised electrons. For her PhD Jess concentrated on new materials for photovoltaics and the development of advanced characterisation techniques to better understand their molecular packing. Outside of the lab, Jess is involved with several science communication and outreach initiatives. She is committed to improving diversity in science, both online and offline.

There will be a full programme where you will be able to select different workshops.

Below is an example of the programme from Physics Day 2023:

Sharron Mackenzie - Waving not Drowning (KS3-4 Waves)Steve Perks - GCSE required practicals for non-specialistsBen Ford - Gain confidence with the A level required practicalsBryan Berry - Embedding careers in your physics curriculumPaul Cook - Spinning BeatsRaj Joshi - Comparing strategies to teach GCSE radioactivityJo Jones - Gain confidence with the A level required practicalsJames Perkins - Bashing your head against the brick wall of physics success! Isaac Physics in and out of the classroomPaul Cook - Mastering the Dark SideBen Ford - Newton's Laws and Drawing Diagrams (KS4 Forces)Jeremy Thomas - Hands on Space and Astronomy in GCSE physicsJames Perkins - Bashing your head against the brick wall of physics success! Isaac Physics in and out of the classroomSharron Mackenzie - What Happens Next?Carole Kenrick - current affairs (KS3-4 Electricity)

*This event has been made possible due to external funding and with support of the Stimulating Physics Network and Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching local partners.