Physics education in the United Kingdom
 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed. (July 2020) |
Physics education in the United Kingdom is mostly carried out from the ages of 16 to 18 at secondary schools, or sixth forms, and to a higher level across the Physics departments at British universities.
Nations
[edit]England
[edit]Physics is an 'enabling subject'. The IOP Future Physics Leaders scheme is funded by the DfE for schools in low participation areas.[1]
Female participation
[edit]At 16, Physics is the second most popular subject for boys, but the 18th most popular for girls. 2% of females, and 6.5% of males choose Physics at A-level.[2]
University
[edit]47 universities offer Physics courses accredited by the IoP.[3] Scottish universities have four-year BSc undergraduate courses or five-year MPhys/MSci undergraduate courses with integrated masters.[4]
Of those with Physics A-level, around 3,000 take Physics on an undergraduate course, followed by Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics, both just under 3,000; next is Civil Engineering, just over 1500.[5]
There were around 710 PhD Physics research degrees a year in 2009-10,[5][dead link] with the researchers being 435 from the UK, 110 from the EU, and 135 from overseas; 165 were female (around 20%).
After university, around 55% do a further degree, and 1.7% start a PGCE; 25% go into the private sector.[5][dead link]
Results by LEA in England
[edit]Highest number of entries for Physics A-level
[edit]- Hampshire 840
- Kent 760
- Hertfordshire 748
- Surrey 626
- Essex 506
- Birmingham 505
- Lancashire 488
- Buckinghamshire 479[6]
Publications
[edit]- Physics Education by the IOP
See also
[edit]- European Physical Society (based in France), which offers physics outreach, and works heavily with the International Association of Physics Students, producing the European Journal of Physics on Physics teaching (published by IOP Publishing)
- List of physics concepts in primary and secondary education curricula
- The Physics Teacher, an American publication
References
[edit]- ^ IOP May 2018 report
- ^ Why not physics? IOP May 2018, data is for 2016
- ^ "Degree accreditation and recognition". Institute of Physics. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ "Going to university in Scotland". Target Careers. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ a b c "Statistical Report: Physics Students in UK Higher Education Institutions". www.iop.org. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ^ SFR 2016