This report, from the University and College Union, evaluates the costs and benefits of higher and further education. Focusing on industrial strategy and innovation, the report argues that universities and colleges have a central role to play in the development of enterprise. The UK’s future economic prosperity...

A Catalyst article explaining how a Geiger counter works through the use of captioned illustrations.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1.

Catalyst is a science magazine for students aged 14-19 years...

A Catalyst article looking at how gel electrophoresis is used in DNA fingerprinting. Gel electrophoresis is used to separate big molecules, in particular nucleic acids and proteins. To learn more about the structure and function of large molecules such as DNA and proteins, they can be broken up into smaller...

A Catalyst article about the life and work of Gertrude B. Elion a pioneer in anti-viral drugs. The ground breaking research methodology she used and her work in creating and investigating purine compounds lead to the development of drugs which are used in the treatment of leukaemia.

This article is from...

Charlie Taylor’s Behaviour Checklists, Getting the Simple Things Right, look at the simple things that should be put in place to create good behaviour for learning. It includes the two lists 'key principles for headteachers to help improve school behaviour' and 'behaviour checklist for teachers'.

Several research reports exploring causes of girls' under-representation in physics, and suggesting possible approaches to tackling this issue.

'Girls in the Physics Classroom: Review of Research on Girls'...

This report, published in June 2006, showed that girls were under-represented in physics post-16.  In 2006 the Institute of Physics published the results of a review that sought to identify causes of this issue. Following publication of the research findings, the Institute produced a teachers' guide to carrying out...

This report published by the Nuffield Foundation in January 2012 provides an up-to-date picture of the scale of UK foundation resources devoted to international development. It also identifies how these resources are distributed across region and need, and how foundations approach international funding activities...

Global project ideas are based around Practical Action’s work, which uses science and technology to address global issues such as energy, water and food. They give students a real insight into how science and technology can be used to tackle challenges faced by communities in the developing world, and how they can...

This report from Ofsted describes how assessment in science is most effective where it is used as a teaching tool as well as a means of judging attainment. Similarly the assessment of practical coursework is not just a means of assigning students to levels but of giving them the information they need to improve...

This report looks at hands-on practical science in secondary schools and uses an international study to answer the question ‘What does good look like?’. Using a  model of...

A Catalyst article about green chemistry. Many reactions take place in solution. Water is a familiar solvent but there are many others, including a rather surprising one, carbon dioxide, which is a non-polluting ‘green’ solvent. The chemical industry relies on solvents to produce many everyday products, such as:...

A Catalyst article about using computers to crunch data from CERN. The article looks at GridPP, a UK computing grid for handling particle physics data.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2007, Volume 17, Issue 4.

Catalyst ...

This report from Ofsted is based on evidence gathered during a rapid response survey. Inspectors visited 45 secondary schools in February 2010 to look at their science curriculum provision at Key Stage Four and to find out how students at the end of Key Stage Three and Key Stage Four were guided towards specific...

This Catalyst article looks at some of the unusual features of water and especially the way it behaves when it is frozen. The article explains the properties of water and how it behaves at different temperatures with the aid of illustrations showing its molecular structure. Some unusual scientific ideas are also...