First years at East Lothian Council’s Ross High School have been taking part in a programme of events designed to make them consider careers in science.

Earlier in the month, students took part in two days’ worth of practical experiments when Lab in a Lorry visited the school, and on the 21^st January they took part in a day-long session with Edinburgh University’s Sci Fun Scottish Science and Technology Roadshow.

Across Scotland, there is a shortage of students taking science options at Standard and Higher grades, and the percentage of pupils taking more than one science at Standard grade is low.  UK skills do not match the needs of a knowledge-driven economy and we have an ongoing skills shortage.  The UK has a smaller pool of scientists and engineers per capita than our competitors.

The driving purpose behind SCI-FUN is to encourage more Scottish school pupils to choose science, and in particular to take more than one science subject. As part of this goal, presenters deliver a short careers talk, which describes the way in which science affects all of our lives, and the many ways in which science is relevant to a huge range of job opportunities.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Sci Fun for pupils is the fifty or so exhibits that the Sci Fun team set up for them to experiment with.  These demonstrate particular topics in all three of the main sciences. During the hands-on sessions, Sci Fun presenters are available to help pupils and explain more of the detail behind specific exhibits.  

Ross High School science teacher Jane Lockett says:

‘This is a great opportunity to enthuse pupils about science.  At Ross High, we are really keen to turn young people on to science as early as possible.  In the last couple of weeks, we’ve had Lab in a Lorry and Sci Fun here to make sure that our first years are opened up to the possibilities of science and scientific careers.’