Polymer Study Tours

The Polymer Study Tours are FREE four day residential courses for secondary teachers of science and design technology designed to improve your knowledge and understanding of the aspects of the curriculum related to polymers. They bring together teachers from both disciplines in an informal environment to exchange views on the teaching of this cross curricular subject.

The courses include a mixture of lectures, laboratory and workshop sessions and visits to plastics processing companies. The sessions are delivered by leading figures from industry and academia who are keen to encourage discussion on all things polymer-related. All delegates are given valuable teaching resources which relate to the curriculum and promote the knowledge of polymers and their importance to the quality of everyday life. You will also have the chance to take away samples that you have made.

The courses start on Sunday afternoon, usually at about 1400hrs and finish by 1600hrs on Wednesday and all accommodation, meals, refreshments and transport between venues is included, you just have to get yourself to and from the course centre.

The dates for 2018 are as follows:

Edinburgh Napier University 24 to 27June
University of Manchester 08 to 11 July

In addition to the courses being free, once again this year all delegates are able to apply for a contribution of up to £200 towards the costs of travel or cover (whichever is most appropriate), however, we do ask for a £50 booking deposit to secure your place which is refunded after you have attended the course.

We think the courses are great but don't take our word for it. This is just some of the feedback from delegates...

“The site visits were invaluable in that they demonstrated the scale of production and the range of products produced along with the amount of equipment required in order to do this.”

“The depth of knowledge of each of the contributors to the course was impressive, as was their willingness to help each delegate to gain maximum benefit from the Tour.”

“As a Chemistry teacher, I feel it is vital that I am able to use real-world examples of the polymer science that I teach. The site visits to local industry were a great way to bring both the science and design aspects of the plastics industry together, in a way that has deepened my understanding of the subject.”

“As teachers, we rarely get the opportunity to escape our daily duties for valuable training like that that we have had this week. I strongly feel that this is due to the tightening budgets and ever increasing workload that currently burdens our profession; when we do find the opportunity to attend a multi-day course, we expect it to be worthwhile. Polymer Study Tours 2017 exceeded all expectations and provided the essential first-hand experiences and networking opportunities to enhance the education that we can provide for our learners.”

“In simple words I can say, the best CPD I have ever attended.”

“I really enjoyed the Polymer Study Tour and it has been the most useful CPD course that I have attended in my 21 yrs of teaching. It was interesting and very relevant to the Design Technology syllabus, especially now that the new GCSE and A level course ask pupils to select one material to study in depth; I will be choosing Polymers for my pupils of course. “

“This study tour gave me my first ever opportunity to set foot in a manufacturing plant, which was a surprising and enriching experience and one that I am sure my students will tire hearing about!”

“The course exceeded my expectations by far and I am confident is going to transform my teaching of the subject. The course was incredibly well designed and paced with a packed and diverse agenda, all of it interesting.”

“The lectures were all of a high standard and it was clear the speakers knew their stuff and were enthusiastic about it. It was infectious!”

“The mix of lectures, practical activities and factory visits was ideal. The factory visits also provided a good insight in potential careers for students which will be helpful to me when giving careers advice.”

“I will be recommending this Tour to student teachers, newly qualified teachers and anyone else interested in materials!”

“The course was very well put together balancing theoretical teaching, with hands on workshop experience and the company visits that brought our learning into context and highlighted the scale and importance of such industries to the wider society.”

“I feel the course is much needed for teachers to learn more about polymers so that we can bring the subject to life in our classrooms and inspire pupils into this aspect of industry.”

“The government has injected a substantial amount of rigour to the subject of Design & Technology at GCSE, with extensive cuts to the educational system; CPD for teachers has a bottleneck of funding which cannot cope with the shortage of skills gap for existing teachers, trying to keep up to date with the changes in technology and associated pedagogy. This is why this course is gold dust for us teachers!”

“All the staff involved were highly knowledgeable and professional and each and every one of the organised sessions were enjoyable and educational.”

"The course had just the right mix of lectures, practical session and factory visits and both of the site visits were just excellent!"

"We were able to take home some samples at varying stages of manufacture which will be very useful in the classroom."

"I would have no hesitation in recommending this course to anyone interested in the field of Polymers."

"Looking at the itinerary before attending the course, I thought it looked quite full and action packed, but I had no idea just how busy it was! Every night as I went to bed I went through the day in my head thinking about all the new knowledge I had gained and how I could transfer it into the classroom."

"I really enjoyed the mix of lectures, labs and industry visits and was impressed at how I could consolidate the learning from all of these. Each part of the course allowed for questions to be asked and I really think that every member learned something new at each stage."

"I now have a new found motivation and respect towards teaching polymers and look forward to doing some cross curricular work between the science and DT departments in my school. I hope that this will help to allow students to see the links between the subjects and motivate them to think about careers in science and engineering."

"I have made some excellent contacts through this course and look forward to sharing ideas and strategies in the future."

"Thank you for allowing me to be part of the best CPD I have ever had the pleasure to take part in."

Documents for download:

Attachment	Size
PST18 Teacher leaflet.pdf	124.58 KB

Who runs the Tours?

The Polymer Study Tours were initiated by the Worshipful Company of Horners in 1987 and they are still the major sponsors. Administrative support is provided by the British Plastics Federation (BPF) and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and the Tours are run at Edinburgh Napier, London Metropolitan and Manchester Universities.

The cost per delegate to run the Tours is around £850 but this is covered completely by the generous support of companies and organisations working in the polymer industry.