Nurturing the scientists of tomorrow

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

The Department for Education (DfE) today announced the scholarships, run in partnership with the RSC, to attract high calibre graduates into teaching chemistry.

Our scholars will receive a bursary of £25,000 tax-free from the DfE. 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

"If the chemical sciences are to thrive in the future, we need to inspire the next generation of chemists today. That starts with expert and engaging teaching," says Dr Robert Parker, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

"We are delighted to offer teacher training scholarships for the fourth year, to attract talented chemists to the profession, and help them become the best teachers they can.

"Our scholars tell us they value not just the financial support, but the focused professional development and mentoring they receive.

"They come from all walks of life – some are recent graduates, others have worked in industry or academia – but they all have a passion for their subject that they want to share.

"We need more chemistry-specialists in our schools to nurture the talented scientists of tomorrow. I hope these scholarships will continue to encourage exceptional chemists to consider a career in teaching, so that every child in the UK has access to an excellent chemistry education."

To hear more on our scholarships, watch our video interview