London Outdoor Science

Supporting fieldwork in KS4 Science

London Outdoor Science, funded by the Field Studies Council and supported by the Science Learning Centre London and Natural England, aims to develop the use of fieldwork in KS4 science teaching in London schools by providing practical guidance, training and resources to support teaching in local green spaces, such as parks and commons.

Initially, London Outdoor Science has concentrated on five London boroughs (Camden, Hackney, Islington, Tower Hamlets and Newham) with results and good practice disseminated across other London boroughs and the East Midlands in late 2006 and early 2007. The project will also undertake a survey to find out what barriers were encountered that prevented or restricted science fieldwork in local communities.

What's on this website?

Teaching and learning resources for complete investigations at field sites within the five boroughs are available to download from this site. You can browse the investigations by London Borough, GCSE specification or topic. This site was last updated in May 2007.

Each complete investigation contains a full plan for a sequence of lessons, from pre-fieldwork preparation at school, site-specific instructions and recording sheets for use in the field, and post-fieldwork materials for analysing and evaluating results within a wider scientific context. For each site there is also a PowerPoint presentation with photographs for each site as well as contact details for education officers who may be able to provide further advice.