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Science examination standards at UK schools have eroded so severely that the testing of problem-solving, critical thinking and the application of mathematics has almost disappeared.

Even bright students with enthusiastic teachers are being compelled to “learn to the test”, answering undemanding questions to satisfy the needs of league tables and national targets.

The RSC has powerful evidence of the decline in standards, adding to the revelation that students are able to receive a “good pass” with a mark of 20%.

This system is failing an entire generation which will be unequipped to address key issues facing society, whether as specialist scientists or members of a wider scientific community.

The record-breaking results in school examination passes are illusory, with these deficiencies having to be remedied at enormous expense by universities and employers.

This is compounded by key sections of the education community being in denial.

Unless addressed, we will see a continuing decline in our international competitiveness, reduced prosperity for ourselves, and limited career prospects for our children.

Urgent action is required before it is too late.

Current signatories

Because there are so many signatories, only the most recent 500 are shown on this page.

• John Potts
• Richard Lilley
• James McLaughlan
• Brian Brunswick
• Dr Alun Roberts
• David Woods
• Dr. Frederick S. Baker, MRSC
• Nicola Wise
• Michael Laing
• Paul Stacey
• Dr Allan Hallett
• Steven Roberts CSci
• William Treasure
• l lee
• Dr Barry Marshall
• ROBERT ELSTON
• Douglas Scott
• Dr Peter Cattermole FRSC
• Alan Molyneux
• Ken Webster
• David Papapostolou
• Nigel J Cubitt
• Lord Butler of Brockwell
• Dr Andrew Crompton
• Jacqueline Kells
• Paul J. Atkins
• Martin Walker
• Dave K Clements
• Eur Ing D W Kent
• Alan Barber MSc; FIBMS
• Dr Jon Underwood
• Paul Dearing
• Sonya Virgo
• Patricia Duncan
• Blaine McQueen
• Robyn Ellis
• Helen Roycroft
• Prof Michael Jones
• Eimer Tuite
• Clare Sansom BSc PhD
• Peter McKerchar
• Kathryn Higgins
• Rob Carthy
• Derick Lawson
• Dr Peter Callaghan
• Dr Alison Hill
• Holly Sheahan
• Elizabeth Robinson
• Andrew Jones
• Helen Tunnicliffe
• Steve Viney
• Robert Byrne
• Ivor Davies
• Hetal J Parmar
• P. Kinnaird
• DaveThompson
• Matthew Sach
• Kevin Walker BSc PhD
• Laura Archer
• Terence James O'Neill
• Carolyn Capner MRSC
• Julia Salmon
• Nigel Rendell
• Professor S. Hall
• Christopher Keylock
• Trevor John Matthews
• P M Bolas.C Chem.FRSC
• Prof. Stephen Cox
• Prof J Timmis
• Professor Tom Melham, FRSE
• Professor John Howse
• Prof Glynn Winskel
• Prof Saleem Bhatti
• Laura Carson
• Teresa Attwood
• Susan Kent
• N Rowley
• The Lord Watson of Richmond CBE
• Professor Stephen McKenna
• Dr Alan Cram
• Adrian Stagg
• Nick Clatworthy
• Claire Parry
• Geoffrey Collier
• David Beauchamp
• Dr. David Gregory, MRSC
• Stuart MacGowan
• C. Kitson
• Yasmin Begum
• Patrick Steel
• elaine coop
• Dr. Timothy R. Rutherford
• David Roberts
• David Lindores
• simon williams
• Dr Tom Woodman
• Dr Akeel A Shah
• Stephen Justham
• Stacey Keillor
• Alan Paul
• Professor Luke Ong
• Jane Smith
• Will Cameron
• Graham Hoey
• david levin
• Richard Charlesworth
• David William Penk
• Adam Black
• Helen Sayers
• Dr. John Ward
• Keith Smith
• Mike Smith
• Paul Waller BSc (Hons)
• Martin King
• Rosemary Waller
• Dona van Bloemen
• Howard Beedle
• Anthony Titley
• Richard Farrer
• Anthony Horsewill
• Richard Dewire
• Dr. Jonathan Ramsay
• John Corner
• Som Gill
• Dr Mike Jackson
• Mike Frost
• Edward Round
• Chris Jackson
• David Cunliffe-Jones
• Robert Beeston
• Tony Addai
• Dr Paz Vaqueiro
• Graham Hoar
• Paul Barker BSc (Hons) CSci CChem MRSC
• Dr. Fu Ping MAN
• Dr Julian Swain FRSC
• Daniel Hamza
• Shelagh Higgins
• Thomas G. Barrie
• Margaret McLaren
• Clifford Green
• Barry Harrison
• Professor Linda King
• Prof. Chris Hawes
• Dr Tim Shreeve
• Janet Evins
• kenneth frank howells
• Jon Laver
• Roger Ramsbottom
• Dr Fred Mahoney
• Dr David Meredith
• carol crowley
• Dr Neil J Heppell
• Dr Martin P Day
• Dr Andrew Lack
• Lisa Johnson
• Dr Graeme Birdsey
• Dr. Mark Poolman
• Dr. Imogen Sparkes
• Trudy Moran
• Robert A J Settle Bsc CChem MRSC
• David Clapperton C.Chem MRSC
• Robert Barr
• Joanne Parkin
• Philip Bembridge
• Colin M Fenton
• Mark Botting
• Colette Dalton
• Robert Deddis
• Robert John King B.Sc. M.Sc. MRSC
• Dr Francis Pope
• Prof. Malcolm Cresser
• Stephen Grant Bsc MRSC
• Steven Lal
• David James Paterson
• Anthony Gaunt
• Nathan Brown CSci, CChem
• Dr. Ariana Morgovan
• A Symington
• Simon Moore
• Margaret Stankiewicz PhD MRSC
• Sadia Shahid
• James Chambers, MSc
• Marc Meads
• Prof. Simon E.V. Phillips
• John Freeman
• Brian Hopper
• Dr John Gwilt
• Emily Rudd
• Brian Mann
• Dr Laura Martin
• Christopher T Ions
• David Chenery
• Martin J. Williamson
• Dr. Yaroslav Khimyak
• thomas lynch
• Dr Paul Rakow
• Barry Sprouse
• Philip Rushton MSc, CChem, MRSC
• Dr Aline Saiani
• Ian E Parsons
• Carolyn Holtom
• Joseph Zablocki
• Dr Andrew Truman
• Dr Stephen Newlands
• Laura Trespidi
• Dr Edgar P Spencer CSci CChem FRSC
• Nathan March
• Andrei Malkov
• Dr P E Parkinson
• Adrian Crosland
• Dr David W M Johnstone FRSC
• Dr Reg Adams
• William Sudds FRSC
• Alan Ludbrook
• David Young CChem, MRSC
• Prof A C Marvin
• Oliver Reeves
• JFTB Snow
• Mark Thompson MRSC
• Dr David Allan Baines
• Tom Geddes
• Eve Orry
• Stephen Race
• Carol Macgowan
• Brian Jones
• axel landmann
• David MItchell BSc CChem FRSC
• Anna Sistern
• Jennie Petherbridge
• Graham leckey
• Raymond Winter
• Theresa Conner
• Micheál McKenna
• Dr. Stephen J. Simpson
• ROGER YEARN
• Jennie Johnson
• Dr R Duncan Farrant
• Dr. Phil Waterfield
• R Hudson CChem MRSC
• Nicholas Smith
• Peter A.Barker
• David E Evans
• Martin Rose
• Dr Ashleigh Fletcher
• Dr David Thurling
• David Zollman
• Rohan Ratnakumar
• sara paulley
• Victoria Steven
• Katie Judd
• Andrew Chappell
• David Carter CSci
• Katherine Self
• Gail Muin
• David Kemmish
• Terence Waters
• Katja Graumann
• Paul Jarman
• Richard Stidworthy
• Joseph Brian Kay
• Peter Jackson
• Nigel Vicker
• David Foley, PhD, AMRSC
• Philip Tromans
• Clair Allen
• Tanja van Mourik
• Paul Nathan
• Lord Tombs
• Dr Robert Stewart
• David Smalley
• Simon Johnson
• Keith W Thomas
• Nicola Bellotto
• Jonathan Keyne Ph.D
• Jacob Murphy
• Harry Locksley, BSc, MSc PhD
• Chloe Evans
• susan barber
• Dr Alan Keith Hellier MA(Cantab)
• Des Thompson MSc PGCE
• Colm Heaney
• Anthony Buckle
• Dr Kirstie Urquhart
• Anatoli Nowak CChem,MRSC
• alan badby
• Bob Mottram
• David Beveridge
• Zahid S. Mohammed
• Emily Douglas
• philip jones
• CHU Vincent Kam Chiu
• Dr Maurice Marshall
• Cyril Ayre
• Stephen Ayre
• T Holding
• Alan French
• Scherzade Anne Westwood
• Claire Harding
• Indu Vaidya
• Alison Hillman
• Prof Anthony Smith
• Alison Stuart
• Dr Amanda Wilgoss
• Berni Widemann
• Professor Ian Bates
• David Reynolds
• Suparna Dasgupta Ghose
• Hinesh Shah
• Mary-Jane Jeanes, Head of Chemistry, Greenacre School
• William Prichard
• STephen Leonard Cook CChem MRSC
• Richard Challand, FRSC
• Christopher Luckhurst
• Maria Wilson
• David Azzopardi
• Elaine Ayre
• ian wong
• Munir Ahmad
• Claire Dossett
• Geoff Wells
• Aidan Doyle
• Georgina Allen
• Dr Graham Kay
• C J Wharton
• Joanne Thomson
• Edwin David Tabbinor
• Bruce Thompson
• Jacqueline Wilson
• James Barr (FE lecturer)
• Louise E. Maddison
• nazira karodia
• david gilmour
• Neil Macdonald
• Maggie Ware
• Linda Feniuk
• Kellie Smyth
• Dr Ronald Fawcett
• Lawrence Davies
• Dr Steven Connors
• David J Ando
• Professor Ian Hillier
• Quentin Hanley
• Dr. Simon Brent Jameson CChem MRSC
• Susan Gray
• Keith Scott
• Dr Michael R Munday
• Alison Penwell
• Dr. Andrew Woodward
• Bunmi Adeyoju
• Dr Stewart Thompson
• Philip Hunt
• Dr. Colin G. Saysell
• Alan Hunter CChem, C Eng
• susan owens BSc (Hons) MRSC
• L Tricker
• Diane Smith
• Alexandra Gledhill
• Dr Richard Clapperton
• p edmondson
• Joe Connor
• bahram
• Liam Healy
• DARRIN HAWKES
• Paul Jonsen
• Dr Nilay Pandit BSc(Hon) PhD ACMA
• Paul Gooda
• ann brazier
• adrian shead
• Siobhan O'Dowd
• Stuart Mackenzie
• Stewart Duguid
• Samuel Overend
• Dr David Bricknell FRSC
• Tracy McGhie
• Dr MJ Pearson
• charlotte ashley-roberts
• Benjamin Green
• Professor David Harvey, FRSC
• Dr Sue Couling
• Rosemary Pickup
• brian evans
• Kath Stepien
• Justine Hughes
• Kenneth Wyatt
• Alan Clark
• Elspeth MacDonald
• Dr Carl Hall
• Virginia Leonard
• Dr David Scheschkewitz
• Lauren Williams
• Ahsan Saleem
• Charles Allbones
• John Russell
• Adrian Barker
• Andrew Endlar
• Chio M Kou
• BRIAN STEWART
• Iain Murdoch
• Kevin Mulholland
• Dr Henry Craddock,FRSC
• David Emery
• Diana Boatman
• Dr Alan Vincent, JP, CChem, FRSC
• J H John Peet
• ray Richiardi
• Mark Smith
• Kevin O'Donnell
• Dr Tom InchFRSC
• FW Hooton
• Vincci Lau
• Julian Hawksworth
• Jack Lassman
• Alom Shaha
• James Sudworth
• Robert Govett Bsc
• Tim Hooton
• Alice Hooton
• John Allen
• Norman Bennett
• John R Smith
• Jack McGhee
• Peter David Groves
• Dr Peter J Smith
• Philip Godfrey
• Michael Thompson
• Jonathan Bruce
• John Petherbridge
• Ewen MacDonald
• Robert Rees BSc MSc CChem CSci
• Robert Kissick
• Uma Shivkumar
• Prof Terence Blake
• Hugh Gurney
• J Crawford
• Michael Jay
• David Ryder BSc MRSC
• Alan Richards
• R V Presswood
• Dr.Kenneth J Aitken
• H Graham Peacock
• Peter Laidlaw
• Dr Owen Lewellen
• Lorraine Godwin
• Vaughan Rees
• lauren carson(long live alan turing)
• James Tunstall
• Chris Mordaunt
• sabah rafiq
• Paul Maglione
• Timothy Bell
• Naveed Barakzai
• Keith Latheron
• Sam Oliver
• Ashok K. Adya
• Fred Barlow
• Alan Shepherd
• Bill Edmunds
• Neil Forster
• HAZEL O'BRIEN
• Rob Stubbs
• Michael Welch
• UNA KIRWAN
• David Beckwith
• Alan Redman
• Frederick Allen
• Ms. R. Novotna BA, PGCE, DMS
• Morag Simpson
• Paul Wilkinson
• Huw Hallybone
• Brynley A Richards
• Julie Ann Brown
• Cleone Butler
• J.A. Roberts
• Khalil Ahmed
• Stephen N. Presswood
• James A. Ballabtine
• Tim Munday
• William Dewar
• Marie Grice
• Sir Peter Gershon
• R Field
• Paul Yates
• Dr Gianpiero Calabrese, MRSC
• Dr Jenny Mortimer
• Suzanne Northwood MSc MChem AMRSC
• Sarah Louise Clarke
• Giles Brown
• Samantha Gardner
• Dr Bill Speed
• Jonathon Speed
• David Hall
• Sophie Harrington
• Ben Rogers
• John Altman
• Dr Martin Warnes
• Dr. Graham K Barlow CChem MRSC
• Dr Richard Harrington
• Allan Robert Gellett
• Professor Anthony Mallet

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