Royal Society to launch £1.4 million scheme to support practical science in schools, funded by The Julia Rausing Trust

The Royal Society is launching a new grant scheme to support practical science education in schools across the UK, made possible by a generous £1.4 million donation from The Julia Rausing Trust (JRT).

The new Science Community Grant will provide up to £105,000 each to ten selected STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) organisations to partner with schools and colleges in areas of unmet need, on hands-on investigative science projects. Over three years, the scheme will help deliver in-depth classroom science projects to thousands of students, helping inspire and engage the next generation of scientists.

Announced today at a Royal Society conference celebrating the importance of practical science, the scheme responds to growing concerns about the decline in hands-on science in schools. The Science Education Tracker, published in March 2024, found that while students expressed a strong desire to do more practical science, the frequency of hands-on science has fallen. In 2023, just 38% of students in years 7-9 reported doing practical work at least once a fortnight, down from 47% in 2019.

The new scheme aims to help reverse this trend, bringing inspiring practical science projects into the classroom and building long-term, collaborative relationships between schools and with the wider STEM community.

Each of the ten funded organisations will work with at least 25 schools, engaging multiple student cohorts over three academic years. Students will carry out small-scale investigations, lasting at least one term, guided and supported by STEM professionals who will visit the school/college throughout the project. The programme will also establish networks between participating schools, enabling them to share expertise and strengthening local STEM education beyond the life of the grant.

The Science Community Grant expands on the Royal Society’s long-running Partnership Grants programme, which, since 2000, has supported over 1,300 schools and colleges from around the UK to carry out investigative projects with real-world relevance in collaboration with STEM professionals. Projects have ranged from studying the DNA of daffodils to searching for undiscovered antimicrobials in soil.

By expanding this approach to a wider network of schools, the new scheme will help ensure more young people, particularly those in areas with limited opportunities to engage with science, can build not only scientific knowledge, but also the critical thinking, teamwork, and problem-solving skills that will serve them beyond the classroom.

Professor Bryan Turner, Chair of the Royal Society Partnership Grants Committee, said:

“Students are more invested when they can see how what they're learning in the classroom connects to their own lives and communities. For 25 years, the Partnership Grants scheme has enabled thousands of students to work with researchers and scientists to carry out hands-on, practical projects with relevance to their local environment. This new scheme will open up these opportunities to even more schools across the UK. It will show how science can address the challenges we all face and help young people build the creativity and practical skills they’ll need for the future.”

Simon Fourmy, Chief Executive of The Julia Rausing Trust, said:

“We are delighted to support the Royal Society’s work to revitalise hands on science in schools. By helping young people explore and experiment for themselves, we hope this initiative will strengthen science education and nurture the next generation of scientists and innovators. We also hope to inspire others to invest in practical science education across the UK.”