Would your pupils love to work alongside a real scientist on an investigation that matters to their local area? We have 25 places for South Yorkshire primary schools on Tomorrow’s Climate Scientists, a new three-year programme funded by the Royal Society and the Julia Rausing Trust.
Each year, one of your classes will run a practical climate or sustainability investigation in curriculum time, over about half a term. You’ll be partnered with a STEM professional from a Sheffield university or industry, who will visit your school to launch the investigation, help with the data and celebrate what pupils find. You can choose from themes such as air quality, renewable energy, energy efficiency of your school building, flood risk and biodiversity in your school grounds.
Why take part?
- Pupils do real science on real issues in their own school and community, and get to meet the kind of people who do STEM jobs.
- It fits into what you already teach. The investigations link to working scientifically, maths and geography, so they add to your curriculum rather than sitting on top of it.
- Your school receives £700 of investigation equipment to keep (things like air quality sensors and renewable energy kits), plus £1,425 towards supply cover and travel over the three years.
- Staff get practical CPD, planning time with your STEM professional, and the option of accredited Carbon Literacy training.
- You’ll join a friendly network of local schools, with shared resources, celebration events, and support to apply for a Royal Society Partnership Grant of up to £3,000.
This builds on our Royal Society seed-funded pilot, where 25 primary teachers and 25 STEM professionals worked together on climate investigations across South Yorkshire. We’re really excited to take it further.
We’re asking schools to commit to all three years, with support from a senior leader, and for a member of staff to attend the CPD and network sessions. If we have more interest than places, we’ll prioritise schools with higher proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals, with SEND or EAL, and schools with less access to STEM enrichment.
The programme starts with an online kick-off session on Tuesday 12 January 2027. Please register your interest by Friday 6 November 2026: Expression of Interest: Tomorrow’s Climate Scientists
The flyer below has all the details. If you have any questions, or would like a quick chat about whether it’s right for your school, please get in touch.