Engaging with schools

This unique half-day workshop will allow you to spend time thinking about activities which work in the school environment and learn first-hand the challenges and expectations of teachers and students.

This course is designed to support you to prepare effectively for an upcoming engagement opportunity with a school. Please contact us if you would like assistance in finding an opportunity. 

Who is it for? 

This course is exclusively for Royal Society grant recipients with some public engagement experience who want to improve their ability to engage schools and their students with scientific research. 

What will you learn?

During this course you will:

• learn about techniques to make your schools engagement more meaningful and find out the best ways to build relationships with schools
• develop a refined plan for delivering activities in schools connected to your research
• learn more about the Royal Society Schools Engagement programme and discover further opportunities and support the Royal Society can offer you

Attendees will be expected to participate in preparatory work and to take part in a schools engagement opportunity with six months of the course. 

Read the draft training programme (pdf)

Who are the tutors?

The course will be delivered by the Royal Society Schools Engagement team in partnership with Hinckley Academy and John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre.

Hinckley Academy and John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre is a large 11-18 secondary school located in Hinckley, Leicestershire, 15 miles South West of Leicester. The academy attracts students of all abilities from across the region and holds at its core the belief that education should be life-long, life changing and life affirming, and personalised to meet the needs of all.

The academy has an outstanding record for extra-curricular science and boasts the winners of the Senior Engineering Category 2018 and the Senior Science Category 2019 at the Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Competition. The academy works closely with professional bodies such as the Royal Society to raise the aspirations of its young people and help them achieve their full potential.

How much does it cost?

You must be a Royal Society grant recipient to be eligible to attend this course.

The course fee and travel expenses are covered for Royal Society grant recipients, including the University Research Fellowship, Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship, Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, Newton International Fellowship and Industry Fellowship.

Further training

If you’re looking for an introductory public engagement course, we recommend attending our Public Engagement for Independent Researchers course before attending this one. We also run public engagement courses on communication skills for public engagement and evaluating public engagement.

You can see a full list of training opportunities offered by the Royal Society. 

Please contact us with any questions.