Connect Physics
What is Connect Physics?
Connect Physics is a set of three workshops for Key Stage 3 science students which answer the questions:
What is physics?
Why do physics?
How do we do physics?
The workshops are suitable for students of all science abilities. The Connect Physics workshops are designed to enhance the KS3 Science Curriculum by linking together the many concepts students encounter. Instead of seeing science as a series of isolated ideas, these workshops help students see see the bigger picture through physics.
Connect Physics not only ties together ideas within the science curriculum but also relates them to everyday life, careers, and the methods used in scientific inquiry. The workshops help students connect KS3 science to real-world phenomena, different subjects, cutting-edge physics research, and important skills like modeling and peer review—all essential parts of the KS3 Science National Curriculum.
Details on each of the workshops can be found in our Connect Physics Teacher’s Guide.
If you are looking to deliver the workshops, please register as a user.
Why three workshops?
For many years SEPnet has been delivering one-off workshops with many schools. Sadly these workshops had very little long-term impact with students, especially those that hadn’t already identified science as a pathway to their future career. Instead SEPnet is now focusing on fewer schools, instead having a greater number of interactions with the students from those schools. Once a term allows us to still be that exciting external visitor, but often enough that students should remember the workshops and be able to link the three.
By the end of the workshops all students should start to realise that:
Anyone can do physics.
Physics is exciting, relevant & important; it goes beyond the classroom.
Studying physics further broadens career possibilities.
The workshops are based on the recommendations from the ASPIRES research. The workshops have been developed by Science Theatre on behalf of SEPnet.
How to book
To book a Connect Physics workshop at your school, contact your local SEPnet Outreach Officer. Keep in mind that due to limited availability, not all schools can be accommodated.
Officers will prioritise schools based on local Widening Participation needs and other factors. We're also working to make these workshops available as a teacher resource for all schools.
Each workshop is designed to fit into a 45 to 60-minute science lesson. If your lessons are shorter or longer, please inform us in advance so we can adjust the workshop accordingly.
Ideally, workshops are delivered once per term to the same group of students throughout the year. However, we understand timetabling can be tricky! If possible, try to book before the Autumn Half-Term, as Officers' schedules fill up quickly, especially in March, June, and July.
The same Outreach Officer, or a trained Undergraduate Ambassador, will lead each workshop throughout the year.
If you're interested in booking Connect Physics, please also review our SEPnet Guide for Teachers.
Evaluation
An in-depth evaluation of the Connect Physics programme was carried out over the 2021-2022 school year. This explored the pupils science aspiration and identity, what they felt about physics and looked at differences between demographic groups. The full evaluation report can be found here, with a shorter executive summary available here.
An initial evaluation was carried out in 2017 -2018. The results of this evaluation can be found here.
