In brief... 
Lords take evidence on science teaching in schools 

In July the House of Lords select committee on science and technology took evidence from representatives of Ofsted, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society, the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education, and Bioscience Federation Education Committee on science teaching in schools. In brief this included:  

• science faces the highest teacher vacancy rate of any subject, though DfES data suggest financial incentives coupled with competition for employment in mainstream science activities are slowing this trend; 
• in the majority of primary and secondary schools the teaching of science is good; 
• there is a clear correlation between specialist science teachers, and the quality of teaching and the success of pupils in science; 
• well-focused, well-planned CPD can have a positive impact on the quality of work that goes on in science departments; 
• less than 10 per cent of students studying A-level chemistry go on to study the subject in HE. Better transfer rates need to be encouraged through better careers advice in schools; 
• increasing the number of subject specialist teachers in schools is key to attracting more students to take the separate sciences post-16. 

A report based on the evidence will be given to Government in the autumn. 

Win wind power for your school 

The environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth (FOE) is inviting secondary school students to take part in its Shout about climate change solutions  week from 6-10 November 2006 for the chance to win a wind turbine worth over £1500 for their school. As part of its week-long activities to raise awareness of and encourage action on climate change, the FOE will be running a schools' competition open to Key Stage 3 students.  

Students will have to investigate what individuals and organisations in their communities are doing to tackle climate change and record the achievements of the 'community climate heroes' through film, photography, audio or the written word. The school to submit the best report will be fitted with a wind turbine, which could generate ca 1 MWhr of power per year and save up to 163 hot air balloons of CO₂ emissions.  

To support the teaching of climate change in schools the FOE has produced a National Curriculum-based teacher's resource pack designed for use with Key Stage 3 students. The pack contains useful information on climate change and activities designed to enliven the teaching of this topic in the classroom. 

For further information and to register for the Shout about climate solutions week, and to receive a free resource pack, visit the FOE website. 

RSC online student 'test'

This month the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) launches Chemistry check-up, a new online test for students who are just beginning their sixth form chemistry courses. Developed in response to requests from teachers, the resource is hosted on the RSC website. 

Similar in style to the RSC's online lower sixthform Olympiad competition, the 'check-up' consists of 40 multiple-choice questions of varying difficulty which test the students' knowledge and understanding of some of the important fundamental topics in chemistry. The test could be used as an introductory 'warm-up' activity at the start of term, as a quick check on progress in the early weeks of the course, or as a self-assessment tool for individual students. Students can take the test several times and there is no time limit for each attempt. At the end of the test, students receive individual feedback via e-mail on their performance - broken down into the main areas of chemistry. This is intended to help improve understanding and learning. 

Chemistry check-up will be freely available through the RSC website from Monday 4 September until Friday 13 October 2006.