The Physics Mentoring Project

February, March, April, October, November, December
Up to 2 hours
Available in Welsh

Our mentors are students from Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, Swansea universities and the University of South Wales to inspire future physicists.

All mentors have previously completed Physics A-level (or the international equivalent). Each mentor has completed over 20 hours of high-quality training which explores the mentoring theory, "The Science Capital Teaching Approach", the structure and aims of the project. Mentoring can take place either in-person or virtually.

For the mentoring to take place in-person the school must be situated within 45 minutes of a participating university. They will mentor up to two groups of 10 - 12 students from years 9 - 11 students who are unsure if they are going to take physics at A level. One session a week occurs for six weeks and ends with awards and recognition ceremony at the end of the academic year. This happens over two cycles per year - February to April and October to December.

The mentoring includes regular self-reflection, development of skills such as scientific reasoning, presentation, communication, team-working and activities to promote a variety of careers. The programme has been successful in increasing the likelihood of girls taking Physics A level and pursuing STEM careers. Please see our website for our evaluation reports for in-person and virtual mentoring. Teachers taking part will be invited to take part in continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities to increase their confidence in teaching physics and physics careers.