Physics and Astronomy outreach for secondary schools

University of Birmingham Masterclasses are organised centrally on a wide range of topics across the university. They are designed to stimulate enquiry and broaden knowledge of a variety of subject areas, including physics. The Masterclasses from the School of Physics & Astronomy are for students in years 8-10. Please visit the Masterclass webpage for more information and to register.

Running since 2005, our annual Physics Big Quiz for Year 9 students returns, allowing each school to bring a maximum of 24 students organised into teams of 4. The goal of the event is to infuse fun, collaboration, competition, and a touch of challenge into Physics.

This event is open to Year 9 students, allowing each school to bring a maximum of 24 students organised into 6 teams of 4, to compete for prizes, trophies and medals. Quiz rounds will cover various mathematical areas, and students will also get the opportunity to experience what studying at university is like through a keynote lecture.

The Year 9 Olympic Project is a competition between teams of year 9 students working on specific laboratory experiments, collecting data, plotting relevant graphs and drawing conclusions. At the end of the day each team will present their findings in a poster/presentation session and will be marked on various aspects of their work.

Gold, Silver and Bronze as well as participation awards will be given at the end of the day.

Please visit the links below to view information on the Olympic Project Day 2018:

• Olympic Project Day Programme (pdf)
• Olympic Project Day Report (pdf)

Schools are invited to enter up to 6 students in teams of 2. Please email our team to book places or to receive further information.

The School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Birmingham is delighted to invite schools in Birmingham and Solihull to recommend their best Year 10 Physics pupil every year, to receive an award. A special presentation evening is arranged in the Summer term for all recommended pupils, their teachers and guests.

This initiative to promote Physics studies and reward hard working, enthusiastic students, is supported by The Ogden Trust.

Report and pictures from the 2018 presentation evening (pdf).

The International Cosmic Ray Day (IRCD) is an event organised by DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron), a Research Institute in Hamburg, Germany. The Particle Physics Group in the School of Physics and Astronomy, Birmingham, has been participating in the event by inviting interested schools to join in for the day.

Cosmic Rays are high-energy particles arriving from outer space on Earth. During the ICD, students from around the world join in to measure the flow of cosmic rays using various types of detectors. Our participation is open to students studying Physics and Mathematics in year 12. Please see our programme pdf and report pdf from ICD 2018. To participate, please contact the Professor C Lazzeroni or Professor K Nikolopoulos. A limit of 6 students per school applies.

For more information abut the event, please visit the IRCD website.

Whole day masterclasses reviewing and illustrating some of the latest developments in particle physics research are held at the University of Birmingham School of Physics and Astronomy every year.

Groups of A-Level students studying physics are invited to come along with their teachers to experience for themselves the excitement of the latest research. Activities include:

• Talks from academic staff and young postgraduate researchers about particle physics and the latest experiments including the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the biggest and most energetic particle accelerator ever built
• Computer based activities where students can get hands-on experience of some of the techniques used by particle physics researchers
• Q&A sessions with experts in the field
• Live video conferencing to CERN

Please click to see the programme pdf and report pdf from the 2019 masterclass.

In addition a half-day Particle Physics Masterclass (for groups of up to 30 A-level students) is available in schools or on campus by arrangement. The session includes an introductory presentation on the ATLAS detector, training students to identify the different types of events (collisions) and hands-on computer analysis with the aim of identifying particles and calculating the rarity of particular events as well as estimating the mass of the Z boson. The masterclass uses real data from CERN. Please email the Professor C Lazzeroni to discuss possible dates/make a booking.

Download the resources of the Particle Physics Masterclass.

HiSPARC is a project in which secondary schools  and academic institutions join forces and form a network to measure cosmic rays with extremely high energy. Schools purchase HiSPARC detectors and students install these on the roofs of their schools. For information on participation in the project, please contact Professor Cristina Lazzeroni.

We have a number of researchers you can contact directly by e-mail to arrange a Zoom link of 15-20 minutes to talk to your students about the research they do, and to answer questions related to the topic they are studying as part of the A Level or GCSE curriculum in the classroom. Your students should be studying a relevant topic and have their questions prepared in advance of the link. For more information please visit our Ask a Researcher page.

This annual event, from the School of Physics at the University of Birmingham and the Institute of Physics, provides an opportunity for those involved in all aspects of physics education to come together, share best practice and be part of our physics learning community. 

The School of Physics & Astronomy offers a Theoretical Physics Masterclass which engages secondary school students in problem-solving activities, with the aim to develop thinking and mathematical skills related to physics concepts.

The masterclass is run by young researchers in the Theoretical Physics Group and is suitable for student groups of Year 11 to Year 13, currently achieving A/A* in physics and maths. The masterclass lasts for half day and is available on campus only - please contact the Physics Outreach Team for further information.

As part of the CREATIONS EU project, a new workshop has been created where secondary school students can express ideas of particle physics using creative art.

Scientific developments have seen reality dissolved into smaller and smaller invisible particles that the physicist has to make visible, a process mirrored by the artist attempting to express thoughts and emotions through the manipulation of materials. Taking the same journey from something hidden to something revealed, schools come and experiment with ways of visualising particle physics ideas using mark-making, simple three-dimensional materials, photography and film, to explore the intriguing connections between art and science.

See the programme of the workshop with some photos (pdf)

This work has been published in the Physics Education journal.

As part of the CREATIONS EU project, a new workshop has been created where secondary school students can express ideas of particle physics through dance and music.

Physicists have developed a simple and comprehensive theory, The Standard Model, that describes the particles that make up the world and their complex interactions in the universe. Drawing inspiration from different particles' qualities, students are invited to transform them through dance and music, in order to understand basic physics elements using their imagination. Please follow the link below for details of the programme of the workshop with photographs:

Particle physics/dance workshop workshop programme (pdf)

This annual event, from the School of Physics at the University of Birmingham and the Institute of Physics, provides an opportunity for those involved in all aspects of physics education to come together, share best practice and be part of our physics learning community.

We welcome school teachers, academics in HE with an interest in physics pedagogy, physics pedagogy coaches, physics education researchers (including those studying for masters and doctoral degrees) and those involved with initial teacher education in physics. The conference has 3 strands:

1. The Cutting Edge of Physics- Exploring ways of connecting new research in physics to learning
2. Skills, Careers and Levelling Up in Physics- Exploring the opportunities and careers related to physics to improve pathways for those studying the subject.
3. Physics Education Research (PER)- Showcasing the latest academic research in the field and relating it to secondary classrooms and the HE teaching space.

2025 Conference:Wednesday 25 June 09:30 - 16:00, School of Physics and Astronomy

Our 5^th annual physics teacher’s day was held in June. Participants discovered what is new in physics education and connected with like-minded physics teachers from around the country. The programme included a subject knowledge update lecture on the discovery of gravitational waves, a range of hands-on workshops from on different aspects of physics learning, and  opportunities to network with colleagues from other schools, universities, physics education organisations, exam boards and more.

This week-long event is open to individual Year 10/11 students (no more than 2 at the most from any one school) who are committed to studying A-levels in Physics and Mathematics in following years. We are looking to accept applicants who can communicate their enthusiasm for the subject and can demonstrate from their previous academic studies that they have the ability to apply themselves to university-level physics themes. A supporting reference from their physics teacher is required.

Please note that we normally have more applications/requests than we can take and selection is based on the references/information provided on the request form. We expect students accepted onto this event to commit to attend ALL FIVE DAYS FROM 9.00am to 5.00pm.

Each day (9.00am to 5.00pm) involves a mixture of talks, workshops and activities and interacting with academic staff and current students. Pupils taking part will be expected to make their own travel arrangements to and from the University and for lunchtimes and other short breaks during each day. Pupils attending who do not live in the Birmingham area will also have to organise their own accommodation arrangements for the week. Please note that the University will only be responsible for pupils between 9.00am and 5.00pm, excluding lunchtimes.

Please see the programme (pdf) and report (pdf) from a past Physics Experience Week.

Information will be added to this page if and when a new event is scheduled to take place.

Physics Residential Summer School for year 12 students

Successful and popular residential Summer Schools have taken place in the School of Physics and Astronomy since July 2004. They are designed to give year 12 students studying Physics and Mathematics a taste of lectures, problem solving classes, laboratory work and the experience of an overnight stay and a chance to visit Birmingham city centre.

Please see the programme (pdf) and report (pdf) from a past Residential Summer School.

Information will be added to this page if and when a new event is scheduled to take place.

We run many events, workshops and talks that you are welcome to attend. Please see the list below for information on how to sign up.  Please contact our team if you need further details about any of these opportunities. 

The Astrophysics and Space Research Group invite you to Astronomy in the City where you can join them for stargazing, observing with portable telescopes, talks from experts about cutting edge astronomy research, and your chance to ask them anything about astronomy!

The Institute of Physics West Midlands Branch provides a varied evening lectures programme, which will be of interest to students studying GCSE and A-level physics and to the general public with an interest in the subject. All are very welcome to attend.

Our Undergraduate Open Days give you the perfect opportunity to hear first-hand from our current students and teaching staff about living and learning in Birmingham.

The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair is the United Kingdom’s largest celebration of STEM for young people, and is one of the largest youth events in the UK.

The University of Birmingham is partnering with the Institute of Physics (IoP) to offer a new online physics mentoring and tutoring scheme for Year 12 pupils. The programme will consist of a regular, rich programme of tutorials and near-peer mentoring.

Tutorials will be led by experienced teachers and contain a maximum of 6 Year 12 pupils per group. Current physics university students will be mentors and role models and will lead some sessions.