The Polymer Study Tour

The Polymer Study tour was founded by the Worshipful Company of Horners and the British Plastics Federation (BPF) in 1987 to give secondary school science and design technology teachers a better awareness of plastics and rubber to pass on to their pupils within the school curriculum. Most recently Tour 2010 attracted teachers from all over the UK.

The courses have been planned to give hands on experience of polymer processing, backed by lectures by industrialists. They also, to put the information in context, take the teachers off site for factory visits, which all find a valuable experience.

The Tours try to enthuse the teachers, counter the negative image of plastics and encourage more young people to consider a science based career, and going by Past tours , teachers have been able to gain valuable knowledge about the subject.

Special thanks to those companies/organisations who have regularly sponsored teacher(s) on the 3½ day Tours over the past few years as we couldn’t run these without your help.

Perhaps the best way to assess a course is by What Teachers say about the tour. Below are quotes from teachers on previous courses:

“The experience was superb, being a good mix of lectures, university sessions and industrial visits. This unique course has enabled me to gather fantastic resources that can be used in the classroom and has equipped me with a far deeper understanding of Polymers as a material group.” Coranne Laws, St Bede’s School, East Sussex

“The course at Napier University was the best in-service course I have been on. It was fun, varied, practical and relevant to the work I do as a Technology teacher.”Allan Gorman, Gairloch High School, Wester-Ross

“It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the various types of plastic, its history and how items are manufactured and ultimately used. Key highlights were; the Bottle Car Race, getting hands on with rubbers and its forming from its native state, thermo-forming with Melamine, blow moulding and the making of composite plastics to form new ones with different properties.”David Forth, Design & Tech teacher, Hull Trinity House School, Kingston upon Hull.

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