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Schools programme
Schools and young people
The Summer Science Exhibition is free and open to any members of the public to attend.
During the week days the Royal Society offers UK secondary schools and colleges the opportunity to bring a group of students to attend the Exhibition. This enables teachers to gain new ideas to take back into lessons, inspires them with the latest advances in research, and provides an experience for their students that cannot be replicated in the classroom.
All members of a booked school group will receive a wristband which allows priority entrance to the venue and access to special talks during the day. The lead teachers of each group will receive support material in advance to help their students make the most of their visit.
Any secondary school or college in the UK can bring their students to the Exhibition as long as they fulfil these three basic conditions:
- The students are in year 10 and above
- They bring a maximum of 28 students from their school or college
- They book via our online booking forms on Eventbrite, and pay a refundable deposit
Any other teachers and students attending who have not booked via the Society will not have a wristband and will not have received the additional support materials.
In 2020 there are two different sessions that schools and colleges can book into:
KS4+ visits: aspiring scientists
On: Monday, Tuesday and Friday
Aimed at teachers and students in Key stage 4 – 5 (aged 14 – 18), these 2 hour sessions provide a unique opportunity to explore the future of science and speak to the researchers that are making it happen. Students will be able to take a glimpse of 21 real world issues being tackled by scientists from across the UK, and find out more about the skills and approaches being used to solve them. For students already interested in studying STEM subjects further, the Exhibition is a great chance to discuss scientific research.
Sixth form days: my future in science
On: Wednesday and Thursday
Aimed at teachers and A-level students in Key stage 5 (aged 16 – 18), the Sixth form days offer students plenty of time to explore 21 real world issues being solved by leading researchers across the UK. They will also be able to attend exclusive talks and networking sessions where they will meet a range of researchers. The students will be able to learn about the skills and approaches used in the researchers’ work and find out more about their careers and backgrounds.
If you are planning on bringing along any teacher resources please note that we are expecting around 200 teachers to attend across the week.
Booking for the Summer Science Exhibition will close at the end of May. If you would like to encourage your local schools and colleges to attend, please contact the Schools Engagement team and we can provide you with some standard text to share with teachers. Alternatively, please visit the schools and colleges area of the Summer Science Exhibition website.
Schools hub
During the weekdays, the Schools hub will be located in the Terrace marquee, which is accessible via City of London room 2 on the ground floor. The Schools Hub will act as a base for all booked school groups attending, and only students and teachers with wristbands will be allowed access.
Those with wristbands will be allowed to leave their bags and coats in the Schools hub and will be able to use the space to eat lunch during the Sixth form days when they will be at the venue all day. Those with wristbands will be in the Schools hub area when they take part in the talks and networking sessions put on for booked groups throughout the week. Those exhibitors who volunteer to help with the Networking will be allowed into the Schools hub, but must mentioned this to the security staff before coming in.
Members of the Royal Society’s Schools Engagement Team, will be stationed in the Schools Hub while booked groups are on site.
Education link
We have asked each exhibit group to provide us with a contact to act as an education link. This person will be responsible for liaising with the Royal Society’s Schools Engagement Team.
We will be asking three key things from the Exhibits via the exhibitor forms A, B and C between now and July:
- A simple question from each exhibit that can be used to support the engagement of visiting students
- Information on any teacher resources that you may have regarding your exhibit that can be made available online either before or after the Exhibition
- A representative from the stand to be available for one hour (either morning or afternoon) on the Wednesday and Thursday for networking events with our visiting sixth form students
Data collection
We want the students and teachers at the exhibition to be able to make the most of their time and explore the research being presented, therefore we ask that you do not collect either personal data (including taking students' contact details, or passing on your own contact details to those in full time education) or information on audience demographic this year.
We strongly feel that the priority for exhibitor interaction, especially with students, is that they should be talking to visitors about the research being displayed, the impact to society and how students might be able to get into that area of science as a career.
More information on evaluation and safeguarding processes will be available via the Exhibitors’ room before the Exhibition.