Supporting School Science

That the Parliament notes with concern the comments of Scotland's only living Nobel Prize winner, Sir James Black, reported in The Scotsman on 14 March 2005, regarding the need to attract more people to study science; further notes the findings of the Save British Science Society survey on Scottish secondary school science which found that more than half of Scotland’s schools are cancelling practical lessons in science subjects; notes that a recent Royal Society of Chemistry survey found that over one in five Scottish local authority schools have turned away pupils from chemistry courses due to a lack of chemistry teachers; notes that funding schools directly from the centre would reduce bureaucracy and free up funds for schools to use for investing in subjects in high demand; supports the Scottish Schools Equipment Research Centre, which is working with science teachers to support excellence in science teaching throughout Scotland with the aim of reversing the decline in the popularity of science at schools, colleges and universities, and considers that the Scottish Executive should support and encourage further collaboration with, and sponsorship from, research institutes and the science industry sector to maximise the incentives for young people to study science and to secure the future of science in Scotland.