NEWS &
COMMENT

NEWS

IRIS Awards 2023 – Celebrating young researchers and those that inspired them

September 2023

IRIS celebrated talented and dedicated young researchers and the teachers and partners who inspired them at the IRIS Awards ceremony at the Crick Institute in London.

NEWS

ATLAS inspires the future generation of particle physicists

March 2023

World-leading particle physicists from RAL & The University of Oxford show passionate sixth-formers the ropes at the national scientific research laboratory.

Student connie working in science lab
COMMENT

Women scientists encourage girls to shine bright in science lessons

February 2023

In our webinar celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, female scientists shared valuable advice for girls interested in science careers.

COMMENT

Why we should all love apprenticeships

February 2023

Jo Foster, director of IRIS, talks about why the apprenticeship should be seen as an equally strong pathway to a STEM career as the academic degree.

NEWS

Shattering perceptions of chemistry

December 2022

Northern Ireland students are attending their first research event at Queen’s University Belfast to kick-start their research investigating specialist chemicals to create greener fragrances.

COMMENT

Give students the tools to achieve

October 2022

What can the education sector can do to break down the barriers and challenge damaging misconceptions to prevent young people from learning science? IRIS director Jo Foster has a few ideas.

NEWS

IRIS Awards 2022

September 2022

IRIS hosted its first awards ceremony, celebrating the talented and hard-working students and teachers who innovate in the classroom every day in their national programme.

NEWS

IRIS student wins Young Scientist 2022

June 2022

Connie, a 14-year-old student from Liverpool, is today celebrating her win of Big Bang’s Young Scientist of the Year 2022 award in recognition of her work analysing how some birds can fly and others cannot.

NEWS

Young researchers share their findings at IRIS Student Conferences 2022

June 2022

Young people from secondary schools and colleges across the UK will be travelling to venues in Bradford, Edinburgh and London to showcase their scientific research.

COMMENT

Widening STEM access is necessary and far from impossible

May 2022

Controversial comments from the social mobility tsar aside, STEM has a diversity problem and there’s plenty we can do about it.

Jo Foster
COMMENT

I am not ‘totally fine’ that only 16% of girls study Physics

May 2022

IRIS director responds to UK Social Mobility Commissioner’s claim that girls do not choose physics A-level because they dislike “hard maths”.

NEWS

The National Research and Innovation Accelerator – our plan to open up science for young people

April 2022

Embedding a culture of research and innovation in schools is key to securing the UK’s leadership in STEM. This is our plan to help schools to get there.

Jo Foster
COMMENT

Apprenticeship reform starts with the school calendar

March 2022

If the UK is to realise the true potential of STEM apprenticeship, reform is needed. Jo Foster argues that companies must kickstart change by aligning the apprenticeship cycle with the school calendar.

COMMENT

For young people to ‘get’ STEM, they must see the real-world applications

March 2022

To get more students studying #STEM, we need to engage them and demonstrate the real-world applications of science, argues Sean O’Sullivan from biotechnology company Illumina.

NEWS

It’s all materials (science) – Students showcase their DNA designs to leading scientists at the University of Leeds

January 2022

Teens are given a chance to share their research with their peers and leading materials scientists.

 

COMMENT

Apprenticeships are key to unlocking our science superpower

November 2021

Schools must value and recommend apprenticeships if we are ever to become a ‘science superpower’, writes Jo Foster

 

NEWS

Northern Ireland students work with leading scientists on salty research

October 2021

Teens from Northern Ireland are working with leading scientists from Queens University Belfast to explore the liquid heralded as the UK innovation most likely to shape the 21st century.

Student from St John Fisher show reporters a bit about DNA Origami
NEWS

BBC Look North investigates students’ research skills at St John Fisher

October 2021

BBC Look North reporters visited St John Fisher in Dewsbury to learn more about students’ latest research endeavour DNA Origami.

 

COMMENT

Girls in STEM: A cause for celebration, not complacency

August 2021

GCSE and A level results give grounds to rejoice about girls’ success in STEM subjects, but there is a long way to go before gender imbalance in the sciences is undone, writes Jo Foster.

Student illustrating DNA Origami
COMMENT

Stuff clay, let’s play with DNA

July 2021

These UK secondary students could quite possibly be the youngest people to construct artificial structures using DNA. They’ve been part of a pilot project investigating the emerging field of science – DNA nanotechnology.

Students using Natural History Museum's Scanning Electron Microscope
COMMENT

What’s under their scopes?

July 2021

Secondary students from around the country have been taking a closer look at their research subjects using an instrument more commonly found in leading universities, research organisations and high-tech  companies than schools.

COMMENT

If the UK wants to be a science super power, research must be at the heart of science education

June 2021

Jo Foster explains why student-led research should be at the heart of  secondary education if the UK wants to realise its ambitions of becoming a science super power.

 

 

NEWS

UK students decode parasite genome to help prevent childhood infection

June 2021

Students have been helping scientists from the Sanger Institute annotate the genome of the human whipworm, Trichuris trichiura. Their efforts could support the development of a vaccine to prevent a neglected tropical disease linked to malnutrition and cognitive developmental problems in children.

NEWS

IRIS CPD course to empower teachers with skills to embed student-led research in their schools

May 2021

IRIS announces a Continuing Professional Development course for teachers wanting to embed authentic research opportunities across their school curriculum.

Location:
The Science Musuem
London

Document title
Lorem ipsom delore

NEWS

The IRIS Virtual Conference: Secondary students illustrate resilience during a tough school year

May 2021

We list the top research projects presented by secondary students at the IRIS Virtual Conference 2020-21.

 

COMMENT

Could research reignite teachers’ passion for science?

April 2021

Dr Elizabeth Rushton, lecturer at King’s College London, talked to 50 teachers who said IRIS projects have helped them reconnect with scientific inquiry, develop new subject knowledge and connect and collaborate with scientists.

 

NEWS

The Institute for Research in Schools announces launch of national STEM framework

March 2021

IRIS will launch the national STEM Research and Innovation in Schools Framework in November 2021 with partner organisations. It will bring together best practice from the education, research and charity communities to enable school leaders to develop an effective whole school strategy to support STEM within their school.

COMMENT

Where are tomorrow’s scientists? Teachers can still ignite passions to ‘turn on’ the next generation of researchers

January 2021

Jackie Flaherty Director of STEM at Chipping Campden School explains why meaningful investigative work is imperative to educate future scientists and how IRIS projects  can help overwelmed teachers ignite passions and ‘turn on’ the next generation of researchers.

NEWS

Scottish high school students inspire discovery of new penguin colony in Antarctica

November 2020

The British Antarctic Survey acknowledged Scottish high school students for their encouragement which led to a discovery of a new colony of emperor penguins. The study, as part of , reveals that there are nearly 20% more emperor penguin colonies an Antarctica than previously thought.

NEWS

Teens’ education is at stake – why it’s as critical as ever to get students involved in real research

November 2020

Evidence now suggests that the attainment gap between disadvantaged students and their peers is likely to have widened due to the inequalities of provision and access to education during the pandemic. Student-led research either in school or home could enhance students understanding of STEM subjects during this critical time in education.

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