STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is central to the UK's position as a science powerhouse. It contributes to innovation and economic growth and provides critical skills for society. Ensuring a continuous flow of diverse talent from schools to post-18 STEM education and into careers is paramount. Instead, most STEM graduates never work in high-skill STEM jobs. This project spearheads the pursuit of inclusive pathways to high-skill STEM careers via university through a rigorous examination of the LEO database. Despite significant investment in various initiatives, progress in widening access to STEM education and professions to underrepresented groups, including women, some ethnic minorities, and low-income backgrounds, remains mixed. Inclusion gaps in STEM careers accumulate through 'leaks' at each transition phase (school, university, career). At its core, this undertaking is about understanding who ends up in STEM jobs in their early career. This requires assessing inclusive pathways towards STEM careers and reviewing the economic returns different groups can expect when pursuing STEM degrees. To meet these objectives, the project will ask and answer: Who is 'ready' for STEM university studies? Who chooses and completes STEM degrees? Who ends up in STEM industries upon graduation? What are the economic returns related to an undergraduate STEM degree in early career? In doing so, the project seeks to identify how the propensity to leave STEM pathways varies between individuals from diverse backgrounds at each juncture from school to university to work and how the economic incentives hold up to remain in STEM. The potential benefits are substantial. Findings can inform targeted policy interventions to bolster inclusive STEM education and careers. They can empower education institutions to develop strategies for successful STEM engagement and retention. Finally, they broaden our understanding of career pathways and provide guidance for those considering alternative routes. Deliverables encompass policy briefs, academic discussion papers, engagement events with stakeholders and the funder promising impactful insights for shaping inclusive STEM pathways. In essence, this project aims to support inclusive and equitable opportunities to pursue STEM. By uncovering the nuances of STEM trajectories, it seeks to unlock talent that can contribute to innovation and the UK's long-term economic prosperity.

We will run 10 zones of I'm a Scientist (IAS) featuring STFC related scientists. IAS is an online, student-led STEM enrichment and engagement activity where school students connect with scientists. They are competitions between groups of scientists, called 'zones', where students ask the questions and decide who wins. Taking part is exciting for students. They can challenge adults on their views, see the huge diversity of UK science and technology research, and connect on a personal level with scientists they would likely never meet in person. It works on a deeper level too. Student-led live chat conversations and ASK questions ensure the engagement around science and technology is relevant to their own views and opinions. By relating to science on a personal level they see it as something 'for them'. Knowing adults in scientific jobs is a key factor determining a student's Science Capital and their aspirations. Schools recognise this and organise ways for their students to meet scientists. However, many schools are underserved by these visits - our research shows schools just 30 minutes drive from a major research university receive half the number of visits as those 15 minutes away. This STFC Legacy Award will get 60 scientists involved in STFC research areas meeting these young people online as part of the larger IAS project, with a focus on students under-served by other STEM engagement opportunities and at Widening Participation (WP) schools. Through direct engagement in 10 zones across two years, they will help thousands of UK school students, regardless of location and background, see that science and technology are for them. Through the interaction, students: see that the scientists are normal people doing jobs they could do themselves see the relevance of STFC-related science and technology to their own lives become enthused about the possibilities in the science and technology sector The scientists: develop communication skills renew their enthusiasm for their work are motivated to do more engagement The IAS STFC zones will showcase the diversity of STFC science and technology. In comparison to an in-person visit from a single scientist, each zone gives students access to 6 people and the wide range of expertises and experiences that exist within topics relates to STFC science. A zone can showcase people behind headline research, such as CERN and space telescopes, alongside smaller projects which get less exposure. The zones will also improve the reach of STFC scientists and engineers to more diverse audiences. Students too far from regular visits, primary students, quiet students, loud students... online engagement works for the people that traditional face-to-face STEM engagement struggles with. And the benefits go both ways. By taking part, scientists discover that young people are interested in their work; they learn the phrases that work to explain what they do, and in the year after participants tend to do lots more public engagement than before. They talk with their colleagues about the benefits they've gained, growing both the IAS events and championing a culture of STEM engagement in their organisations.

The Bigger Bang! Show and An Elemental Spectacle: A Guided Tour of the Darker Reaches of the Periodic Table are two established chemistry evangelism events aimed at the public. The Bigger Bang! Show is normally carried out in a large theatre and involves a series of high end exhibition chemistry demonstrations carried out in a humourous but educational manner and is aimed primarily at families and schools. The event is presented by Dr Hal Sosabowski and co-presenter, the Doc, from ITV's Ministry of Mayhem. The Bigger Bang! Show involves a high level of audience participation and interaction and offers a unique blend of high-end, spectacular exhibition science and entertainment, underpinned with long-halflife, takeaway science knowledge and educational discourse (with a small element of Laurel-and Hardy-esque buffoonery). An Elemental Spectacle: A Guided Tour of the Darker Reaches of the Periodic Table is an in-depth focused chemistry show delivered by the PA and Dr Max Whitby of RGB Research Ltd. This event is aimed at the science community and public; featuring each of the elements of the periodic table from 1-90 in an elegant experiment of its own. The show alternates between elements 1-30, 31-60 and 61-90, so there are three variants, with the host venue choosing which of the variants it wants presented. This application is for a ten date (twenty-show; two per date) tour of The Bigger Bang! Show and in parallel, a ten-show tour of An Elemental Spectacle: A Guided Tour of the Darker Reaches of the Periodic Table, both tours being over a period of two years. For each show (of both tours), there will be an interactive periodic table foyer display. The Bigger Bang! Shows will be held at theatres across the South East with seating capacities of up to 2,000 (similar to the Brighton Dome), and there will be two shows per venue on the same day, a matine aimed primarily at schools and an evening show aimed at families/the public. The Guided Tour of the Darker Reaches of the Periodic Table shows will be held at Universities and given to audiences of up to 500, with a target audience of families. There will be one show per venue. Both these tours will be of the South of England and the cities and venues have been identified and costed indicatively as; for the The Bigger Bang! Show tour: Brighton (Brighton Dome), Poole (Poole Lighthouse Theatre), London, Redhill (Redhill Harlequin), Maidstone, Taunton, Oxford, Cambridge, Swindon, Andover. For the Elemental Spectacle: A. A Guided Tour of the Darker Reaches of the Periodic Table tour the indicative venues are: the University of Brighton, Imperial College University of London, University of Southampton, Cardiff University, University of Kent, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University of Surrey, University College Hastings and University of Essex. Before and after each show there will be an interactive periodic table displaying the foyer of each of the venues, provided by one of the project sub-Contractors RGB Research Ltd. RGB will create the traveling exhibition featuring a number of its spectacular periodic table displays featuring real element samples that can be set up at the venues of all twenty lectures to entertain and engage the audience both before and after the live shows. These displays have a proven record of drawing a high level of interest and attracting audience engagement. These exhibits will include several interactive stations where members of the audience can explore the periodic table and investigate particular elements. This component will provide a means to extend the educational impact of the shows, particularly for those among the audience motivated by the live performance.

In the UK, as in virtually every developed country, it is widely accepted that we need more people studying and working at all levels in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). STEM industries are vital elements of the global economy with jobs in science, technology and engineering predicted to grow at double the rate relative to other careers. Yet there is a widespread consensus that there is a substantial - and growing - STEM skills gap, with insufficient numbers of suitably STEM-qualified workers to meet demand. It has also been argued that STEM skills are beneficial for a wide range of careers and can promote social mobility. Relatedly, there are serious concerns about the lack of STEM-qualified graduates entering teaching and the potential impact of this shortfall not just on schools currently, but also for the future STEM skills gap. Alongside the need to increase STEM participation, important arguments have been made for the imperative to widen participation in STEM and ensure high levels of scientific, mathematical, technical and digital literacy across the population. Specifically, there is a need to broaden the gender, ethnic and social class profile of those who study STEM post-16, particularly in the physical sciences and engineering, where women, some minority ethnic and working-class communities are starkly under-represented. Yet initiatives aimed at increasing and/or widening the profile of STEM graduates appear to have had little lasting impact on the higher education participation rates. Understanding the factors shaping STEM participation is, therefore, a key priority area for governments and a wide range of stakeholders both nationally and internationally. The proposed three year study seeks to understand the processes through which young people develop their science and career choices and trajectories from age 20-23. Specifically, the proposed study will extend the unique dataset developed by the first and second longitudinal ASPIRES and ASPIRES2 studies, which tracked the development of young people's science and career aspirations from age 10-19 (surveying over 39,000 young people at five time points between the ages of 10 and 18 and longitudinal, repeat interviews with 61 young people and their parents over the same age period). ASPIRES3 will continue tracking this cohort via a representative national survey with c.7-10,000 young people at age 20/21, sampled from those who have previously conducted ASPIRES/ASPIRES2 surveys and boosted via online (social media) recruitment, as a media that is particularly successful for recruiting this age group. The project will also conduct interviews with c.60 students who have been longitudinally tracked from age 10 and their c.60 parents. The project will also undertake secondary analysis of previous ASPIRES & ASPIRES2 survey data from over 16,000 students, matched to large national data bases to examine whether/which attitudinal and social factors at age 10/11 relate to later attainment and life outcomes at age 20/21. The knowledge generated by the research will inform inter/national STEM education policy and practice, particularly how to better increase and widen post-compulsory participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The project will become the only longitudinal project to track young people's aspirations (in and out of science) from primary school, through compulsory, post-compulsory and higher education into work. In line with our commitment to achieving impactful research, the study will involve three impact collaborations with the Royal Society of Chemistry, Engineering UK and the Institute of Physics. Findings and recommendations will be disseminated via a wide range of academic journal articles and bespoke summaries, publications, events and social media for stakeholders.

A strong central character was developed in comic format as part of a pilot project with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). This character, the Chemedian, is a fun loving and engaging impish character, who has been designed to counter traditional negative stereotypes of chemists. She is young (11 years old), female, rebellious and non-conformist. She belongs to a group of beings that control chemistry and make sure the world works the way we expect. The pilot project found that children were able to draw on previous experience to explain the changes in materials caused by the central character. This comic was also well received by teachers, who commented on its novelty and its ability to engage reluctant readers. The comic format offers a creative approach to support chemistry teaching in primary schools that focuses on cross-curricular links with literacy. The project, therefore, draws on a popular cultural form but contains controlled, curriculum linked content. A bespoke comic book containing 10 comic adventures (9 new adventures plus the existing adventure - The Chemedian and the Crazy Football Match) will be created together with associated teaching resources. The first page of the existing comic is included at the end of the case for support to provide an example of the type of material that will be produced for this project. The project team have a number of ideas for storylines, many of which draw on the team's current research activities. For example, our research on unconventional computing involves materials which change colour. A story themed around colour change could involve The Chemedian going back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. She discovers that the landscape is largely red limestone. As she is wearing blue clothing, she sticks out as easy prey for passing dinosaurs. To avoid being eaten, she uses vinegar to change her cloths to red. This simple acid/base titration experiment is easy to mimic in the classroom using natural indicators such as red cabbage. Another example involves our research on sensor science, in which we are investigating sniffer bees. These could feature in a comic where bees help the Chemedian locate a gas leak. This could be followed up with hands on activities relating to smells. Ideas for storylines (both the science and the adventure aspects) will be developed in consultation with primary school children and teachers to ensure their appeal. All will be memorable humorous treatments of key concepts. Each of the 10 comic adventures will be accompanied by a detailed teachers' resource containing and explanation of the chemistry concepts explored in the comic, including specific links to the National Curriculum for Science, and suggestions for activities to support and extend learning about these concepts in both science and literacy lessons. The comic book will primarily focus on the three materials units in the KS2 curriculum: grouping and classifying materials changing materials separating mixtures of materials. By covering all three materials units, the comic book could be used throughout the KS2 curriculum. Thus, children would be exposed to the character and comic format on repeated occasions during KS2. This has the advantage of clearly linking the three units together as well as building on earlier work.