Everything you need to know to help Royal Society of Chemistry initial teacher training scholars
One of the key missions of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is to empower communities to offer an excellent chemistry education to all. By offering the scholarships we can help to support trainee chemistry teachers in the classroom and encourage an unbroken chain of subject experts teaching students throughout their education. We also believe that all chemistry teachers should have access to high-quality subject-specific professional development throughout their career. Our bespoke programme of continuing professional development (CPD) for scholars ensures they have the skills and knowledge needed to confidently teach high quality lessons to their learners.
I’m a subject mentor at school, how can I best support an RSC scholar?
If you are lucky enough to have an RSC scholar on placement at your school, please support them as you would any other trainee. It would also be great if you could chat to them about their Royal Society of Chemistry CPD sessions by finding out when they are. Encourage your scholar to attend events and invite them to discuss their learnings with you or at a department meeting.
Scholars receive practical support during, and after, their initial teacher training. We provide them with free classroom materials including books, posters and a lab coat. The scholarship team also matches every scholar with a coach, and every coach is a chemistry subject specialist. Dan, a scholar in 2023–24, was full of praise for this aspect of the scholarship: ‘My coach was wonderful, and clearly was prepared to offer as much support as any of our cohort asked for.’
RSC scholars also have access to a programme of professional development events (covering hands-on practical training), free online courses on key concepts in teaching chemistry, networking opportunities with the scholar community and chances to engage with the RSC beyond the scholarship year. Former scholar Eboni said, ‘It’s really improved the future of my career, helping me to understand exactly what I need to be doing as a teacher and supporting me in my development.’
Know someone who might be interested?
- Share our scholarship webpage with them. It has lots of information about the programme, including how to apply, a video introducing our team and explaining the scholarship’s benefits, including £31,000 tax-free funding for up to 150 talented individuals entering chemistry teacher training in England in the 2025/26 academic year.
- We run the award in partnership with the Department for Education (DfE). The DfE also has a website dedicated to funding and support for those who want to get into teaching.
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