Dr Rhodes' Physics workshops up for national award

A teacher from Hereford Cathedral School who teaches free Physics workshops to primary school pupils across the county has been shortlisted for a major national award.

Dr Simon Rhodes has taught over 1,450 hours of science lessons in over 30 state schools in Herefordshire. This coming February he finds out if his workshops will be awarded at The Times Educational Supplement Awards in the Independent-State School Partnership category.

Dr Rhodes, who is a teacher of Physics at Hereford Cathedral School uses low-cost items such as battery-operated LED lights, jelly babies, gherkins and old lorry tyres in his free Physics Outreach Workshops, which are part-funded by The Ogden Trust.

Student feedback includes: “This has been the best day ever!” and “I wish we could do Physics every day – even on Saturday and Sunday.” Wendy Cox, National Lead in Primary Science at The Ogden Trust, said: “In my role for The Ogden Trust I have first-hand experience of the fantastic support Dr Simon Rhodes gives to primary schools and the subsequent impact. Simon has developed his own highly effective CPD courses covering all aspects of Physics for KS1 and 2, and teachers report enhanced confidence to teach areas of science they previously found difficult, with consequent impact on pupil engagement.”

Photographs by Hepburn Photography.