This Catalyst article looks at the pterosaurs, which were flying reptiles, and which died out along with the dinosaurs. Analysis of the fossil record has increased scientists' knowledge of these creatures and how they lived. Bird watching during the Mesozoic Era, the expanse of time stretching between 245 and 65...

A Catalyst article explaining what happens when a scientist makes an exciting and new discovery. How do scientists manage to tell as many people as possible, and how can they be sure that someone else has not beaten them to it? Writing and publishing research in scientific journals is a long standing and popular...

A Catalyst article about Quantum Tunnelling Composite, a material discovered in 1997 and whose resistance decreases dramatically under pressure. How does it work and what uses will it have? The material has been carefully characterised (to understand its composition and how it works), and its first applications...

The British Science Association has been running the STEM enrichment programme for young people for almost 30 years.  This report is the first quantitative evidence of the impact of extra-curricular STEM interventions.

The report reveals that undertaking a CREST Silver Award appears to have a significant...

The questions in this framework can help governing bodies identify areas to celebrate or challenge in their schools, enabling them to work with their senior leaders to drive improvement. This framework aims to enable governors to perform at their best, exemplifying an approach which could benefit all curriculum...

This guide from the Department for Education is designed to help teachers, learners, employers and anyone involved in work experience develop strategies for creating good quality placements for young people aged 14–19. The Quick Guide for STEM Work Experience Placements has a question and answer format to assist...

A Catalyst article which explores how the nervous system works. Sensitivity, the ability to respond to stimulation, is a product of nervous system activity. How nerve impulses pass around the body, and why these responses are so fast are investigated in the article. Neurones, reflexes, synapses and receptors are...

A Catalyst article explaining how weather forecasts can help keep the public safe in extreme situations by providing advance warnings: for example, airline pilots rely on accurate information about the development of thunderstorms to help them decide which routes might be at risk from lightning or violent...

A Catalyst article about the safe use of radiation. Radioactive materials are hazardous because they give out ionising radiation. Like many scientific discoveries, radioactivity provokes a mixed reaction. Some seek to commercialise it whilst films and comic books emphasise its harmful effects. The article takes the...

A Catalyst article about how decisions taken about controversial issues such as the sitting of a radioactive waste store. How does a government decide where to put such a dump? And how can citizens affect the decision making process? The article examines how governments try to involve their citizens in decision-...

A Catalyst article about radioactivity that was being spread among wildlife species in the Arctic in ways that no one had detected before. The source of this radioactive contamination and how radioactivity is detected are investigated.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2004, Volume 15, Issue...

A Catalyst article about radiation and the many uses it has in medicine, both in finding out what is wrong with a patient (diagnosis) and in the treatment of cancer (therapy). The radiation used in medicine can come from electromagnetic radiation or from radioactive materials such as isotopes; the scanners using...

A Catalyst article about careers using radiography in medical procedures. The article looks at a typical working day for a radiographer, the types of radiography used, how to become a radiographer and the qualifications available.

This article is from GCSE Science Review 2006, Volume 16, Issue 3.

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Her Majesty’s Inspectors visited nine schools and one pupil referral unit that had been judged outstanding for behaviour in their most recent Ofsted inspection to find out about their behaviour policies and to discuss exclusion. The evidence gathered from these visits is presented in this report as good practice...

This activity sheet is based on the Inventive Podcast.  It introduces electrical engineer Jack Howarth, and links his work to a physics topic. The activity sheet also supports Careers Benchmark 4: Careers in the curriculum by introducing a career and role model. There are also links to short audio clips of Jack...