Elevating Chemistry

The last 18 months have been difficult for everyone, particularly for students who have missed hours of face-to-face teaching during the lockdowns and beyond.

Elevating Chemistry from the Royal Society of Chemistry builds on the Addressing Lost Learning project from 2020 and aims to support schools and colleges to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 measures on students’ learning in chemistry.

The impact of the pandemic is even greater in communities where schools and families are less likely to be well resourced in terms of access to technology and other learning support, which is why Elevating Chemistry is targeted at secondary schools and colleges that have at least 25% students receiving free school meals (UK) or are part of the Delivering Equal Opportunities in Schools (DEIS) scheme (ROI).

What is Elevating Chemistry?

We are inviting schools and colleges to put forward proposals for projects that fulfil one or more of our three aims:

• To support teachers to address the impacts of Covid-19 on chemistry learning with their students
• To support the development of practical skills impacted as a result of Covid-19 measures
• To support sustained curriculum enrichment for students who have lost enrichment opportunities as a result of Covid-19 measures

Projects should be an idea that you wouldn’t be able to implement without RSC support.

If you are looking for inspiration, have a look at our case studies that demonstrate projects that science teachers ran with the support of Elevating Chemistry last year.

How could Elevating Chemistry help your school?

We will be running two rounds of applications for Elevating Chemistry funding, one beginning in October 2021 and a second in spring 2022. You have the option of applying for either £2000 (€2200) for a one-year project or for £3000 (€3300) for a two-year project. If you opt to apply for a two-year project, funding will be allocated to you across the two years with up to £2000 (€2200) in year one and a top-up in year two.

If your application is successful, we will support you to implement your initiatives and help your students get their science learning back on track. By taking part, you will also join a community of teachers implementing similar initiatives in their own schools and contribute to the education community’s understanding of effective methods to support learning under challenging circumstances.

Who can apply?

The Elevating Chemistry project is open to secondary schools and colleges in the UK and Ireland that have at least 25% students claiming free school meals (UK) or are part of the Delivering Equal Opportunities in Schools (DEIS) scheme (ROI).

If your school applied to the Addressing Lost Learning project you are eligible to apply however this must be with a new project idea.  

To be eligible, your school must also be signed up to Teach Chemistry; but it is quick and easy to sign up.

SIGN UP TO TEACH CHEMISTRY

How to apply

The application process is simple and straightforward, and we will support you throughout to make the best of your ideas. Any member of a science department can submit an application, but please make sure you have the consent of your head of department and include their contact details so that we can copy them into any correspondence.

To get started, you’ll need to sign up to join Teach Chemistry, and then fill out our application form, outlining your idea and what support you need to implement it. If your school fulfils the eligibility criteria, we will schedule a call to talk through your proposal and to ask any questions we might have. 

Applications for Elevating Chemistry are currently closed. The next round of applications will open in May 2022 for projects starting in September 2022.

Contact us

If you would like Elevating Chemistry to support your school or have any questions, please get in touch to discuss your application.