Scholarships to attract top chemistry graduates into teaching

The Royal Society of Chemistry is offering scholarships with a financial value up to £25,000 to top chemistry graduates who want to engage and inspire young people in chemistry by becoming exceptional teachers.

In partnership with the UK government’s Department for Education, we offer RSC Teacher Training Scholarships to help recruit the best and brightest graduates with the potential to be brilliant chemistry teachers.

Our scholars will receive a bursary of up to £25,000 tax-free from the Department of Education. They also get a package of support from us including:

• mentoring by an expert chemistry teacher
• Continuing Professional Development workshops
• free membership of the Royal Society of Chemistry for two years
• a selection of classroom materials including books, posters and a lab coat
• access to networks of chemistry teachers and trainee teachers

Welcoming the government’s announcement on the scholarships, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Dr Robert Parker, said: “We are fully committed to ensuring every child has an excellent chemistry education. This starts with excellent teachers so we are delighted to be awarding chemistry teacher training scholarships again this year.

“Our scholars come from all walks of life - some are recent graduates, others have worked in industry, academia or other professions - but they all share in common a passion for chemistry and inspiring the next generation which is why we support them to become the best chemistry teachers they can.”

Reflecting on the success of the scholarships we have awarded so far, he said: “Our first scholars have just completed their teacher training and they have given us great feedback on the impact of their scholarships. They valued the chemistry-focused professional development and the opportunity to be part of a community of enthusiastic chemistry teachers.”

He continued: “We need inspiring, engaging and expert teachers to nurture the next generation of scientists who will tackle the global challenges of the future. To achieve this we need to increase the number of chemistry-specialist teachers in our schools so we hope this next round of scholarships will encourage more exceptional graduates to consider a career in teaching.”