Call for more science specialist teachers in Scottish primary schools

Professor Yellowlees continued: “It is imperative to not only capture the scientific interests of school pupils at a young age, but also to provide them with the resources they need to practice science in a safe, instructive and inspiring manner.

“That is why we are calling for every primary school to have at least one science specialist teacher by 2020.”

Science makes an important contribution to the Scottish economy. The chemical sciences alone are Scotland’s second largest export industry – with over 200 companies in Scotland employing 14,000 people and delivering £9 billion turnover annually.

Speaking ahead of the campaign launch, our Public Affairs Adviser in Scotland, Bristow Muldoon – who also spoke about the campaign on on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme – said: “A good science education at primary school is crucial to make sure we have a steady supply of skilled scientists for the Scottish economy.

“But, through ongoing work with our education networks, we strongly suspect that there is a serious shortage of teachers with a science background in Scottish primary schools.

“So, we are calling on the Scottish Government to commit to every primary school having access to a science subject leader – a teacher with a science background or appropriate level of training to support their colleagues in teaching science.”

Many primary schools in Scotland serve small rural communities so, for these small primary schools, one science specialist would be shared among a ‘cluster ‘of schools.

Our campaign was endorsed by both Conservative and Labour MSPs attending the Science and Parliament event at Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.

The event – which was attended by around 250 researchers, academics, educators, politicians and business professionals from across Scotland – featured addresses by the Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages, Dr Alasdair Allan MSP, and the distinguished astrophysicist and new President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who spoke about attracting and retaining women in science.

Delegates also had the opportunity to put questions to a cross-party group of MSPs who set out their party positions on science education.

The event wasn’t just about addressing the issues affecting science education in Scotland though. It was also an opportunity to celebrate the success of Scotland’s top students in the sciences with Alasdair Allan presenting prizes to 20 young people who excelled in chemistry, biology and physics in the 2014 Higher and Advanced Higher exams awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Some of the students are pictured with their certificates in the photo gallery.