Working with local schools
The Wellcome Trust works with local Camden schools in the community around our headquarters on Euston Road. Many Wellcome Trust staff volunteer to support local schools in a range of ways, but we also work with them on specific science projects, learning - alongside the schools - the best ways to support science teaching.
We coordinate our work with other local providers and are represented on the Camden Partnership for Educational Excellence.
Primary Science Network
We have supported a network of nine primary school science coordinators to take their schools through the Primary Science Quality Mark award scheme. From 2011 to 2012, primary science coordinators worked with a Wellcome Trust-funded scientist from Kew to develop lesson plans.
Interdisciplinary Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
We provided bursaries to Camden secondary schools between 2009 and 2011 to develop a range of projects to help students better understand the connections between the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
STEM subjects are used in a collaborative way in the real world and this interdisciplinary approach often leads to innovations and important discoveries. However, in schools the links between these subjects are often unclear and this can lead to students not transferring their learning and skills across the subjects.
The Camden schools used two main approaches. Some focused on enrichment such as after-school 'STEM clubs' or working towards the British Science Association's CREST award. Others adapted schemes of work with some schools developing lessons that enabled pupils to work on the same project across all of their STEM subjects for part of the school year.
We hope that schools can use the information to develop their own interdisciplinary STEM activities or schemes of work. You can read more about this work in our blog post Making STEM happen in secondary schools, in the detailed evaluation report by the National Foundation for Educational Research or in our short publication on this project: ‘Working Together: Making STEM happen in secondary schools’.
Extended Project Qualifications (EPQs)
We are now working to support Camden secondary schools in entering students into Extended Project Qualifications (EPQs) in STEM subjects, especially practical ones, or using our resources such as the Wellcome Library and Wellcome Collection.
As a post-16 qualification, the EPQ is worth up to 70 UCAS points and requires students to carry out an independent research project and produce either a 6000-word dissertation or a 1000-word report and a product. Students can choose a research topic in any subject area and many projects span several disciplines. The products can take many forms, including artefacts, performances or computer programmes.
The EPQ gives students the chance to develop their independent learning and research skills, helping them to develop a foundation for later study. It is an excellent opportunity for students to gain experience of doing scientific research, learn more about the scientific process and engage with cutting-edge research.
We have produced an online resource group for teachers supporting extended research projects in STEM. Hosted by the National STEM Centre, it is free to join and contains resources relating to research project ideas, libraries and collections, research skills, contacting subject specialists and more. It also offers discussion threads that the group can use to share experiences and tap into the expertise of other members.
Over time we hope to develop this work nationally; please get in touch if you have any suggestions for how we might do so.