Our message to Government

Support for chemistry is an essential requirement for a prosperous future. The UK chemical industry alone accounts for 2 percent of UK GDP and chemical scientists are crucial to a much wider section of industry, from biotechnology to electronics. 

Chemistry education in schools

Highly motivated and competent teachers with thorough specialist subject knowledge are of key importance in a student's educational attainment and in their decision to continue studying.  

A recent report by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES)1, highlighted the fact that many pupils do not have access to specialist teachers.  Only 25 percent of science teachers in England have a specialism in chemistry and there is a substantial number of schools in which the majority of science lessons for 11 - 16 year olds are taught by biologists or those without a mainstream science qualification.

The need to address this problem was acknowledged by the Government with the publication in March of Science and Innovation Framework 2004 -2014: Next Steps, which committed to increase the proportion of science teachers with a specialism in chemistry from 24 percent to 31 percent by 2014. 

Whilst the RSC welcomes this commitment, meeting it will require a set of measures that tackle the long standing problem of teacher recruitment - particularly in the physical sciences. These problems include high resignation rates amongst serving staff and the substantial proportion of teacher trainees who do  not make it  to the classroom. 

The RSC is calling for all 14-16 year olds to be taught the sciences by teachers who  have a specialism in the subject taught. Funding is also needed for effective subject specific professional development for all science teachers - at least 5 days in each year. For chemistry teachers, this will require £2.6m per annum.

Better school science facilities

In 2004, the RSC report, Laboratories, Resources and Budgets, showed that 41 percent of school science laboratories were, at best, of a basic standard, with a further 21 percent considered unsafe or poor. These poor school facilities may discourage students from studying science or from entering the teaching profession. 

The report estimates the UK needs £1,9bn with an additional £70m per annum for teaching materials, in order to raise all school laboratories to a good standard. 

The Government is currently upgrading school infrastructure under the Building Schools for the Future program but this has a 10 - 15 year timescale and there is no specific commitment to ring-fence funds for laboratory modernisation. So a large number of pupils will not benefit from any changes.

The DfES has been unable to provide data on the current state of school science labs, so the RSC has commissioned further research. Results will be available in a forthcoming report, Improving School Laboratories?

Higher education funding shortfall

The RSC study, Costs of Chemistry Departments in UK Universities, examined the finances of chemistry departments at 8 UK universities which received ratings from 3b to 5* in the 2001 research assessment exercise. The study showed that all 8 were operating with significant budget deficits. We estimate that the total deficit across UK chemistry departments is of the order of £100m. 

After extrapolating the chemistry data across the physical sciences and engineering and considering the impact of variable tuition fees, we estimate that £306m is required per annum to  secure the future of laboratory based subjects.

An additional £23m is needed for the roll out of the RSC-led, HEFCE funded Chemistry for Our Future program, following the launch of it's pilot phase in 2006. This will enable chemistry departments to implement long-term, sustainable plans which widen student participation and meet the needs of industry.

In the longer term, the funding for laboratory based courses must cover the full cost of their provision. This will mean weighting funding in favour of expensive but  nationally important subjects, such as the sciences and engineering. 

Getting the message across

There are many signs that the Government is listening to the core messages that the chemical sciences are crucial to UK plc and that considerable investment is needed to secure their future health. The RSC will continue to communicate these messages to Government with realistic funding targets backed up by considered evidence.

References

1  Mathematics and science in secondary schools: the deployment of teachers and support staff to deliver the curriculum, DfES, Jan 2006