Physics Mentoring Project Wales - Growing Connections

Physics Mentoring works to increase the number of non-males taking Physics post-16 by six weeks mentoring with trained university students.

Secondary

Ages 14 to 16
In-school
4 November 2024 to 18 April 2025
Up to an hour
Free

Run by Physics Mentoring Programme.

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The Physics Mentoring Project will place two trained university student mentors in your school to mentor a small group of year 9 - 11 pupils for six sessions. They have worked with 34% of all secondary schools in Wales.

The project has a proven track record of increasing school students' likelihood of pursuing a STEM career, including non-traditional routes, with 10% more mentored students saying that they would "probably choose a physics-related apprenticeship" after participating in the project.

Sessions can be in-person, blended or online.
You will have the option to complete mentoring in the Autumn 2024 term (after the October half term), in the Spring 2025 term (after the February half term) or you can take part in both cycles.
Physics Mentors take a holistic approach to increasing pupils' physics skills and awareness and highlight the benefits of studying physics post-16.
At the end of the year, you will have the option to take part in an awards and recognition ceremony with keynote speeches and workshops at the university closest to you.

70% of participating teachers agree or strongly agree that The Physics Mentoring Project has improved their students' intentions to take Physics at A-level.

Capacity: 14 students

Learning outcomes

Improve engagement, interest or enjoyment in STEM subjects
Develop engineering employability skills
Improve awareness and aspirations for STEM-related study and careers
Challenge stereotypes by showing the diversity of disciplines, people and skills involved in engineering

Subjects and topics

- Physics
- Electronics, robotics and programming
- Energy and environment
- Entertainment, sound and lighting
- General engineering
- Materials, products and manufacturing
- Mechanical engineering, systems and processes
- Medicine and healthcare
- Space and aerospace engineering
- Structures, construction and civil engineering

Gatsby benchmarks

The Gatsby benchmarks are a framework for good careers guidance for schools across all of England and in some areas across the rest of the UK. This experience helps your school to reach the following benchmarks:

Addressing the needs of each pupil
Linking curriculum learning to careers
Encounters with further and higher education

Essential skills

The essential skills every young person needs to succeed in education and their future career. Find out more at the Skills Builder Partnership. This experience builds the following skills:

Aiming high - the ability to set clear, tangible goals and devise a robust route to achieving them.
Problem solving - the ability to find a solution to a complex situation or challenge.