Levelling Up Physics
If you are a 6th form student and would like to join Levelling Up Physics at University of Birmingham, please get in touch.
What Is Levelling Up Physics?
Levelling Up Physics currently runs at over 20 universities in the UK and is growing. The University of Birmingham School of Physics and Astronomy acts the Hub for the national project which is supported by the Institute of Physics.
Levelling Up Physics is a long-term, university-based outreach programme that provides free near-peer physics tutoring and mentoring for 16–17 year olds from backgrounds currently underrepresented in physics higher education. It is can be delivered online or in person, making it sensitive to the context of different university outreach priorities and accessible to participants across the country.
The programme pairs small groups of pre-university students (8–12 per group) with current undergraduate and postgraduate physics students, who act as both tutors and near-peer mentors. Weekly sessions consist of a physics curriculum tutorials related to a key topic from A level physics and a mentoring discussion about an aspect of university life or application. Learning materials for Levelling Up Physics are provided and have been developed collaboratively between participating universities. The programme is adaptable in length with most universities choosing to run either a long (9 month) or short (10 week) course with a subset of the materials.
Just enjoying physics" — the comment from one participant that captures what Levelling Up Physics is all about: providing a welcoming space where curiosity about physics is celebrated, questions are welcomed, and being interested in physics is normalised for a diverse range of young people.
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>20 |
10:2 |
5+ |
>1000 |
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Universities running Levelling Up - and growing! |
Students to tutor ratio - small group near-peer mentoring model |
Years running since 2020 |
Young people participated so far (2020-2025) |
Why Run Levelling Up Physics? The Case for Action
Physics remains one of the least diverse STEM subjects in UK higher education. The figures below illustrate the scale of the challenge and explain why sustained, targeted outreach like Levelling Up Physics is needed.
The diversity gap
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UK Physics Undergraduates (2022/23) |
UK Physics Academic Staff (2022/23) |
|---|---|
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Participation is physics post-16 could be categorised as largely white, middle class and male with the problem not being confined to undergraduate study, but present throughout the academic physics career pipeline.
Why One-Off Outreach Is Not Enough
Research consistently shows that single outreach events have limited long-term impact on young people's aspirations. Archer et al (2021) caution that 'one-off' STEM interventions have only limited impact on aspirations, and that programmes running over a period of months are more effective. Levelling Up Physics is specifically designed to address this by providing sustained, weekly engagement over a period of two to nine months in the period during which students are making and submitting their university applications (usually summer term of y12 – spring of y13).
The Role of Role Models and Community
Research by Avraamidou (2020) and Rodd et al (2013) highlights the crucial importance of relationships with individuals who can recognise young people from minoritised groups as competent physics learners — and of safe spaces where they can develop a sense of belonging in physics. In many schools, physics classes are small and overwhelmingly male; some students describe feeling that physics 'isn't for people like them'.
One female participant, attending an all-girls school with just three students in her physics class, said: "We just think, you know, they're not gonna want us anyway, so what's the point?" Levelling Up Physics gave her the confidence to realise that "you do not really need to be a male or a female to be able to do STEM — I have realised that I have as much potential as someone else does."
The Evidence Base for Near-Peer Mentoring
Levelling Up Physics is built on a well-established body of evidence for the effectiveness of near-peer mentoring in STEM outreach. Near-peer mentors in this context are undergraduate or postgraduate physics students who meet regularly with groups of pre-university students for both physics tuition and discussion about university study.
What the research shows:
• Near-peer mentoring has a dual benefit, developing both mentor and mentee (Tenenbaum et al, 2014)
• It can positively impact scientific knowledge and career interest in participants (Verma & Ali, 2023).
• It supports the sustainability of outreach activities by making efficient use of academic staff time (Pluth et al, 2015)
• It promotes a sense of belonging in physics and normalises the experience of struggling with physics problems (Zaniewski & Reinholz, 2016)
• Female facilitators of physics outreach programmes specifically benefit from improved confidence, interest and motivation (Randolph et al, 2022)
• The 'nearness' of the mentor — being close in age and educational stage — is identified as particularly important for changing attitudes in mentees (Wilson & Grigorian, 2019)