1. 'Staying in touch with teachers to support the transition' Dr David Read Director of Undergraduate Admissions and School Teacher Fellow

2. Background 2000-2004: ▪ Number of A-level entries each year was continuing to fall. ▪ Applications to chemistry degrees were falling. ▪ A number of chemistry depts were closed down. What was ‘Chemistry for our Future’?

3. Success! 2 year pilot with 4 strands ▪ £3.6m awarded for pilot starting 06/07. What was ‘Chemistry for our Future’? ▪ Strand 1: Outreach (C:TNG). ▪ Strand 2: Teacher fellowships. ▪ Strand 3: HE Curriculum development. ▪ Strand 4: Smarter use of existing laboratory space.

4. ▪ Successful bid for funding under strand 3.1 (‘From Registration to Graduation’ ). ▪ £45k over 2 years (~ 0.5 FTE). ▪ SoC matched the funding to appoint a full- time STF for 2 years. ▪ Two roles- support outreach activities - develop support for 1st yrs ▪ Took up the post at end of May 2007. ▪ CFOF pilot was extended for a further year – finished July 31 st 2009. My original role at Southampton

5. Outreach at Southampton Some of our activities ▪ Talks in Schools/Colleges (demonstrations & topic-based) ▪ Practical workshops in Schools (also in-house) ▪ Practical sessions in our labs (Y10 and Y12) ▪ Spectroscopy Tours (including problem-solving)

6. Supporting students in making the transition to university Creation of ‘Welcome Website’ for access in August (after A-levels). Contents: Course overview. ‘Week in the Life’. Virtual tour of dept. Online survey. A-level revision resources.

7. Other developments Zappers (electronic voting systems) have been widely used in UG teaching and outreach Pre-lab resources help students to prepare for the lab.

8. Other developments Recorded lectures are very popular with students (but are they used ‘correctly’?). Novel approaches to self-assessment have impacted positively on learning

9. ▪ Outreach ▪ CPD courses for teachers (SLCSE) ▪ Hants Post-16 Teachers Group ▪ Annual Post-16 teachers’ study day ▪ Informal visits ▪ Invited talks at meetings and conferences. Staying in touch with schools

10. http://www.edshare.soton.ac.uk/5853/