The high-level data suggest that the pipeline into UK university education is in good shape. In England, a record 33.7% of the 18-year-old population were accepted onto undergraduate courses last year through the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS). In Scotland, UCAS accepted 26.7% of all 18-year-olds into undergraduate education in 2018 – also a record – while Northern Ireland and Wales saw entry rates similar to 2016.

Look a little closer, though, and systemic imbalances hove into view – not least in terms of students’ backgrounds versus their route into higher education. Take England specifically: while one in four school students from the most advantaged quintile of 18-year-olds will progress to a highly selective UK university (broadly speaking the top 30 research-intensive universities), just one in fifty of the most disadvantaged quintile will progress to those same institutions.

This disparity in participation provides the raison d’être for Researchers in Schools (RIS), an ambitious, government-backed teaching initiative that puts PhD graduates front and centre in the battle to widen access to highly selective universities for under-represented groups. The programme is managed by The Brilliant Club, a charity, and delivered through a network of partnerships: 15 initial teacher education (ITE) providers and more than 75 schools working together to provide a “uniquely tailored route into teaching” exclusively for PhD graduates.

Back to basics

One of the main aims of RIS is to increase the number of high-level subject specialists – with physics and maths PhD students among the priorities – in nonselective secondary schools across England. Since the programme’s inception in 2014, RIS has placed more than 270 teachers in schools, with over 200 of those trainees specializing in maths or physics.

Because of my network of contacts within UK academia, I have been able to provide students with opportunities that otherwise would not exist

RIS teacher Carly Wright

On the back of that, says Nicholas Cater, recruitment director for RIS, those researchers are trained to become in-school champions for higher education – the hope being that they will acts as catalysts in building a more diverse talent pipeline for the UK’s research-intensive universities.

“When you’ve spent a lot of time at university – and maybe at different institutions for your undergraduate and postgraduate degrees – you get a real familiarity with how the system works and how to be successful in that environment,” Cater explains.

That familiarity means PhD graduates are well placed to deal with a lot of the misconceptions that school pupils can have when thinking about university and higher education. “Even just the knowledge of what a doctorate is,” he adds, “and that it’s something you can do after an undergraduate degree. Being able to talk to pupils about this from a first-hand perspective is really important.”

The PhD students who win places on the RIS programme undergo a three-year programme of intensive training. In their first 12 months, trainees spend one day a week at an ITE provider, working towards Qualified Teacher Status (a statutory requirement to teach in any state school in England and Wales). Formal teacher training is reinforced by three days a week in the classroom, building expertise through a structured programme of observation and feedback with an RIS mentor. The in-classroom work increases to four days a week in the second and third years of the programme.

Research leadership

Among the unique features of the RIS training scheme is the Research Leader in Education (RLE) award. This fully funded, three-year programme of professional development requires trainee teachers to spend one day a week “off-timetable”, enabling them to focus on education research projects and evidence-informed teaching.

The RLE award comprises a phased schedule of research activity, starting with a series of university-style tutorials, dubbed Uni Pathways, that the trainee teacher will develop for a small group of pupils to increase their chances of attending a highly selective university. In every case, the tutorials are based on the teacher’s own PhD research and experience.

“As a PhD student you draw on a lot of different learning methods – independent enquiry, multidisciplinary collaboration, peer review and the like,” says Cater. “The RLE modules aim to tap that PhD skill-set and help trainee teachers start to introduce those concepts into their classroom.”

During year two of the RIS programme, trainee teachers progress to deliver a pilot project of their choice in a specific area of education research. The physics teaching cohort has pursued diverse lines of enquiry to date, including the relationship between the autistic spectrum and mathematical ability; barriers to girls engaging with physics; the use of augmented reality as an aid to science comprehension; and whether practical experiments for students and parents lead to improved examination results.

According to Cater, it’s not just pupils who gain from this research-centric approach to teacher training. “Our trainee teachers are given leadership development [in their final year] so that they can roll out the learning and experience from their pilot project – essentially to encourage innovation and new ideas in teaching practice across the school,” he explains. “The quid pro quo is that the trainees themselves are still learning, so they need the reciprocal support of their colleagues to complete the picture on what it takes to become a great teacher.”

Applications for the latest RIS recruitment round are open now, with successful candidates required to attend induction training in August. As well as providing an opportunity to meet the rest of their cohort, as well as current teachers on the RIS programme, the training will focus on the transition from research career to secondary education, and strategies for widening participation at selective research universities.

The view from the classroom

Carly Wright completed a PhD in meteorology at the University of Reading in 2017. Her research focused on rain bands that form downwind of mountain ranges and why they are inaccurately forecast. Here she tells Physics World about the transition into the classroom and her experience as a second-year teacher within the RIS programme.

How did you find the transition from postgraduate research into teaching?

It was a challenge to move from a research project to a more structured working platform. However, carrying out the PhD gave me the foundations to fully embrace the ever-changing environment of the RIS programme. Conducting outreach activity and tutoring duties during my PhD provided me with the skills and resources needed to work in a classroom confidently.

Why did you opt for the RIS programme versus other teacher-training routes?

The RIS programme is simply unique and was a natural follow-on from the educational work that I was conducting during my PhD. The programme meets the need for me to continue my research whilst forging my career in education – something which no other teacher-training route allows. After two years within the RIS programme, it has provided an engaging and inspiring training environment and is now allowing me to train in educational leadership – a solid foundation for the rest of my career in education.

How does your research background benefit pupils and teaching staff?

Because of my network of contacts within UK academia, I have been able to provide students with opportunities that otherwise would not exist – for example, trips to Oxford and Cambridge universities and workshops at the University of Manchester. Within the school, I have been able to provide mentorship, advising students about their further-education choices and routes into academia or alternative scientific career options.

At the same time, I work closely with my teaching colleagues, taking the lead on bespoke physics training programmes as well as providing professional advice in regard to specialist subject knowledge or practical work. The programming skills I gained during my PhD have also enabled me to lead a student robotics club to the UK national championships.