SciFest 2023: A Review
Executive Summary
2023 marked the 18th year of the SciFest programme and the passing of a significant landmark: since its inception in 2006 over 100,000 students have now taken part in SciFest. Integral to these numbers is the SciFest@School level of the programme, and the 2022/23 academic year was a record-breaking one, with 104 schools hosting their own in-house SciFest@School fair.
The strong growth of SciFest in 2023 has laid a perfect foundation for the 2023/24 academic year. The local SciFest@School strand appears poised for yet another year of record-breaking participation, with over 90 school fairs already registered by the end of December. At the regional level we were delighted to see that more than 3,000 students participated in the SciFest@College 2023 fairs, bringing the number of students involved in this strand back up to pre-COVID-19 levels. These significant increases emphasise the demand and indeed the need for greater access to inquiry-led learning in STEM.
Every fair, event and experience of SciFest 2023 was unique and demonstrates a significant strength of the SciFest model, namely that there are opportunities for everyone, no matter their ability, background, gender or circumstance. Broadening the range of access and opportunities is vital to get young people engaged with STEM and to consider it for further study and as a potential career. This is our vision, and we are delighted that this aspiration is shared by so many in the education community and, not least, by our sponsors who make the programme possible.
Sheila Porter
SciFest Founder and CEO
3 January 2024
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