The Physics Mentoring project was modelled originally on the Multilingual Mentoring Project, adapting the methods and approaches that had been successful through this project to increase the number of female learners opting to study Physics at higher levels.
Like the Multilingual Mentoring Project, the Physics Mentoring Project places trained undergraduate and postgraduate students into secondary schools across Wales to mentor and inspire future physicists.
The collaboration between six Welsh Universities (Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham, and the University of South Wales) builds on the established success of the award-winning MFL Mentoring scheme. Their Mentors work with Year 9 – 11 students across Wales to promote Physics qualifications whilst increasing confidence and self-awareness. The project is funded by the Welsh Government and a number of partner institutions, including Welsh Universities.
This project was the first of many ‘off shoots’ coming from Multilingual Mentoring but is the longest enduring. Amanda Wilkinson, Director of Universities Wales, stated that the Multilingual Mentoring Project led to “targeted working with Welsh Government to develop further school-university partnerships, supporting learner attainment” and provides “a model of co-working across the school and HE sectors”. This model of working has been extended to develop further projects involving the University of Waikato in New Zealand, and to support other areas, such as literacy and reading
You can find out more about the Physics Mentoring Project by visiting their website here: https://physicsmentoring.co.uk/