Nuffield Secondary Science in the 1960s was a response to the need to improve the teaching of science for the three-quarters of secondary students who were then unlikely to be entered for GCE O-level. The project team aimed to put into practice the approach to science teaching outlined in the Newsom Report,...

The Nuffield Secondary Science Apparatus Guide was produced to help teachers and teachers and technicians with the many new practical activities introduced by the project.

Section A This section lists the apparatus, chemicals and materials needed for the fields of study in each of the eight...

The Nuffield Secondary Science project devised, and trialled, material that was flexible and capable of adaptation so that teachers could draw on the ideas to devise courses suitable for their own students. The material was organised into eight themes. The rationale for...

The Schools Council initiated this evaluation of Nuffield Secondary Science at the point when school trials of the materials were largely complete. As a result the evaluation focussed on the early adoption of the project by schools.

Nuffield Secondary Science carried out the ‘bold experimentation’ necessary to devise a new curriculum for the majority of students in secondary schools that the Newsom Report, Half Our Future had called for in 1963.

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Most of the publications produced by the Nuffield Secondary Science project were designed to provide ideas for teachers. The detailed guidance was intended to help teachers to plan and implement science courses for the three-quarters of young people in secondary schools that would not take O-level.

The books...

This Nuffield Secondary Science theme suggests ways to help students arrive at an understanding of aspects of interdependence, and an appreciation of the importance of animal and plant conservation. The laboratory investigations develop from problems identified during...

This Nuffield Secondary Science theme deals with the continuity of life, not only in the short term from generation to generation, but also in the long term, when the cumulative picture of many generations appears to indicate an evolution. As a result, the theme includes two very important concepts related to...

The summary in the teachers’ guide for Nuffield Secondary Science states that when studying this theme, students learn by asking questions and seeking answers to questions about themselves in particular and about mankind in general.

This Nuffield Secondary Science theme explores the devices that can be used to extend the range of sensitivity of the human senses.

Areas for investigation
The information in the theme book...

The developers of Nuffield Secondary Science described the resources they published as a 'quarry' from which teachers could select suitable material to build courses that would be significant for their students.

The resources are divided into eight themes. Each theme is divided in a number of fields of...

This resource contains a number of articles explaining how statistics help us understand the world.

Investigating fingerprint types

This Catalyst article looks at the work of field ecologists, discussing how ecological studies require the gathering and processing of large amounts of data. This article looks at how ant populations are studied in the field and how their study can produce information about the way living organisms exist in the...

In this lesson, pupils learn how energy is required to fuel many different body processes, growth and activities and that different people need different amounts of energy. They explore macronutrients and micronutrients and how we can measure energy intake using kilojoules or calories as well as learning about...

This biology and food resource uses the real-life context of the British America’s Cup team INEOS TEAM UK to introduce the topic of nutrition and a balanced diet. There is a short video clip 'Nutrition and fitness Teach with confidence' intended for teachers which introduces the resources and how to use them.