Dan Wharton, Bradford Central PRU

Dan Wharton received funding from the British Science Association in 2017 and 2018 to run British Science Week activities with his students.

Bradford Central is an Assessment PRU (Pupil Referral Unit) for 11-16-year olds, referred by their school or Local Authority.  It aims to get students successfully back into mainstream education.

Dan works with the Bradford Central PRU as a teacher, and for British Science Week in 2017 and 2018, he used the grant to develop practical lessons for students.

Dan trained and works as a science teacher and he drew on his expertise when creating the lessons.

What events did they run?

For British Science Week in 2017 and 2018, Dan developed two sets of three practical lessons for students.

One session focused on explosions using Alka Seltzer tablets in water.  Another session had young people building 30cm bridges with lollypop sticks and masking tape and then testing their strength by hanging weights from the centre.

He used the funding for equipment to create what he called ‘engaging hooks’: practical activities which help hook students into their learning. Students who come to a PRU are often demotivated and need to be re-engaged into their learning.

How did British Science Week funding help?

The Pupil Referral Unit’s high turnover of students means they can repeat sessions more often than most schools, so the lessons that Dan developed are used outside of British Science Week.

Members of staff “love the sessions because they know it’s going to be a positive week for both staff and students,” said Dan.

Describing the lesson he ran over British Science Week on gas pressure, Dan said: “the whole lesson was just consumed with wonder and awe and that’s why they bought into it so well. They just loved building and creating, and if you get them motivated, they’ll succeed like any other student in mainstream [schools].” There’s an equity dimension to his work because he identifies most of the people he teaches as being from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Dan trained and works as a science teacher so, when designing the six British Science Week tasks he could draw on his science experience “to cherry pick some engaging practicals which I could do within the confines of the PRU.”