This opinion piece was written by an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded researcher to provoke debate and discussion about the issue of ageing. The piece was written for the Debating Matters competition, which the ESRC sponsors, and discusses vital questions about whether extending the human lifespan...

The Grand Challenges – Our Futures programme (2018 to 2023) aimed to help young people develop the skills needed to bridge the gap between today’s learners and tomorrow’s career choices. The Government’s Industrial Strategy set out key Grand Challenge themes, aimed at putting the UK...

This resource forms part of the ageing society resources from the Grand Challenges resource collection.  The introductory video can be found here.

The ageing society – level 2 resource package consists of activities designed to run for around two to three hours...

This resource forms part of the ageing society resources from the Grand Challenges resource collection.  The introductory video can be found here.

The ageing society – level 3 resource package consists of activities designed to run for around two to three hours...

These technical briefs look at agricultural production in many parts of the world, carried out on a small-scale by farmers. Relatively small improvements in agricultural practice can have a big impact on yield and dramatically improve the life of a farmer and their family.

Technical briefs are documents...

This More Maths Grads resource, from the Maths Careers website, investigates the maths used in transport and is based on the travelling salesman problem.

Students are given a table containing information on the cost of air travel between nine different cities and asked to plan a route that visits each...

Air pollutants arise from natural processes and human activities. In this SATIS Revisited resource, students investigate air pollution, how it is monitored and some effects on human health. Air pollutants arise from a wide variety of sources, although they are mainly a result of the combustion process. It is easy...

This resource consists of two field work activities. The first records lichens on trees as an indicator of air quality and the second looks for tar spot fungus on sycamore leaves. This links to curriculum work on plants, habitats, air quality and improving the environment. This resource includes a workbook, field...

The video shows air being pumped into an American football using a hand pump. The person using the pump pauses part way through to press the ball in order to check the pressure. They then continue until a final check is made and the ball is seen to be at the correct pressure. The challenge is to graph air pressure...

This resource uses the context of long distance runner Eliud Kipchoge trying to be the first person to run a marathon under 2 hours, to look at air resistance.  The video below is a good introduction to the challenge facing Eliud. 

The presentation, which contains teacher notes, looks at the forces involved...

In this resource from the IET, pupils make use of the theme, the future of flight, to create a presentation for the board of an airline company suggesting how they could re-use aircraft, or parts of aircraft, being retired from their fleet. They will research the different parts of an aircraft and existing products...

This STEMNET resource describes the background and career of STEM Ambassador Nathan Kan, a Senior Airworthiness Engineer.

Nathan works for QinetiQ, a company which provides technology-based services to the defence, security and related markets. It also delivers consultancy services to commercial and...

Alan works at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre, and is designing software for the James Webb Space Telescope.  Alan talks about his work on the mid infrared instrument which will look at the formation of galaxies in the early universe.  He uses coding in his job and explains how you need to write algorithms to a...

A Catalyst article about the life and ideas of Albert Einstein. He is most famous for his ideas on relativity which formed the theory of general relativity, in which he showed that gravity could be explained as the effect of large masses on space. After the Second World War he also worked with other scientists and...