To promote adult engagement with physics and chemistry using local scientific, technological and environmental sites on and off campus as a vehicle for upskilling the community by acting as a springboard to learning and progression.

1. To publish evidence to inform institutions’ strategies to engage adult learners back into science education;

2. To work in partnership to develop programmes of work which engage adult learners in the difficult first step back into formal science education, with an emphasis on Maths skills;

3. To develop clear progression pathways for adult learners who are re-engaging with science education, and to promote their uptake;

4. To help realise employment opportunities in STEM areas, which may not have been previously considered by this cohort of adult learners, by facilitating the first step back into learning among disengaged adult learners.

5. To effect a shift in attitudinal barriers regarding the accessibility of science sites to the local community they serve.

The programme will offer the same course, titled ‘Connect with Science’, six times between October 2011 and July 2012 on a twice-termly basis to the local community, free of charge.

In total, each learner will engage in 16 hours of contact time, and will submit a final piece of project work at the conclusion of their course.

We will engage a total of 15 learners in each course, meaning that the total number of learning hours will be 1,440.

This mix of site visits will serve to offer learners first-hand experience of science provision within the city, and the campus-based sessions will break the attitudinal barriers some non-traditional learners have with regard to the physical site – we intend to use the National Science Learning Centre as the base for these classroom sessions so that the reputation of York as a Science City is reinforced.