Widening participation in higher education physics

Thanks to a generous donation from philanthropist and former teacher Dr Tony Hill, the Institute of Physics (IOP) is launching an exciting initiative to help widen participation on university physics courses.

The scheme will provide support to A-level students from backgrounds currently under-represented in the physics community, to enable them to apply for, and hopefully be accepted on, undergraduate physics courses.

Initially working with three universities and their local schools, the pilot will give the students both academic and pastoral support through a rich programme of regular tutorials and near-peer mentoring sessions.

Through this engagement, A-level students will build strong relationships with their teacher-tutors, university student mentors and with the participating universities more broadly, as well as enhance their involvement with physics.

Following the pilot, which will run through the academic years 2020/21–2021/22, the scheme will be extended to other universities.

The aim is that students from a wide range of groups and communities currently under-represented in physics will be supported to pursue it at university and beyond.