Produced in 2003, these performance descriptors for chemistry science subjects at AS and A2 levels were written to indicate the level of attainment characteristic of grades A/B and E/U boundary candidates across a series of assessment objectives. It was intended that they should be interpreted in relation to the...

Produced in 2007, these performance descriptors for science subjects at AS and A2 levels were written to indicate the level of attainment characteristic of grades A/B and E/U boundary candidates across a series of assessment objectives. It was intended that they should be interpreted in relation to the content...

This publication is a report from the Leading Space Education Programme (LSEP). This is a Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) funded project that has worked with 30 schools in England with the aim of enhancing science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in secondary schools and using...

This set of subject criteria were produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in 2006 for Awarding Bodies to produce AS and A level science subject specifications, in biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, geology, electronics and environmental science.

AS and A level subject criteria are...

This Catalyst article discusses how experiments using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which discovered the Higgs boson, at the CERN laboratory can tell us about the nature of matter in the early universe. ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is one of the experiments taking place at the LHC. It breaks down...

This Catalyst article investigates the nature of aerogels, which are among the least dense solid materials, not much denser than air. Aerogels were made as the result of a bet and ended up going into space to capture comet dust. They are the lightest solids which exist and have some unusual features.

The...

This Catalyst article investigates materials used in jet engines. They must withstand high temperatures and great forces. Special alloys are used for structures such as turbine blades. The article is from Catalyst:...

In 2016, European Space Agency Astronaut, Tim Peake, carried out a series of experiments on the International Space Station, using equipment designed by the National Space Academy.

The overall programme includes the following topics from UK physics and chemistry secondary school curricula:

• ...

Dr Claire Cousins and Mark Fox-Powell explain how scientists look at life that exists in extreme environments on Earth, to see what kind of life scientists might see on the surface of Mars.  This knowledge helps scientists plan the best target for a rover.

Professor Cockell takes us through the astrobiology...

Astrobiologist Dr. Lewis Dartnell talks from the Atacama Desert about a research trip to find extremophiles that might give scientists some clues as to the kind of life that may exist on the surface of Mars.  Lewis shows how quartz can act as a natural sunscreen to enable cyanobacteria to grow in the dry desert...

A collection of ten videos describing Aurora's mission to Mars. The topics covered in the films include:

• Why we explore: the film explains the...

Dr. Mark Woods explains how the rover technologies must be partly autonomous, since the signals from Earth to Mars take too long for every command to be send from Earth.  The technologies developed for space, also have applications on Earth.

This video is part of a series of ten which look at the one of the...

This Catalyst article presents the work of three chemists - Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel - who won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Their work allowed the development of complex computer models of compounds and reactions.

The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2014,...

These wide-ranging resources provide information and guidance that will help practitioners and employers consider issues such as gender equality, subject choice, inclusive pedagogy and providing successful work placements.