Improving UK science education

Our investment in science education in the UK has made a transformative difference in engaging young people and encouraging them to consider science as a future career.

As Wellcome shifts its strategy, we’re stepping back from our support for science education.

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Wellcome has a new strategy. We are supporting discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and we’re taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate. 

Our new focus means that Wellcome has now stepped back from its 30-year investment to improve science education in the UK.

We believe this investment, alongside the work of other organisations, has made a transformative difference to science education. 

For example, we invested over £5 million each year from 2017 to 2021 and focussed that resource on three areas of science education: 

  • Science education research 
  • Teacher professional development 
  • Primary science 

Alongside this, we supported: 

  • Informal science learning 
  • School governors 
  • Practical science 

Our reports are still available on this website and elsewhere. See below for some of our more recently commissioned work.

Past reports 

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