More than 1-in-4 British schoolkids see science as future career

More than a quarter of teenage schoolchildren in Britain hope to work in science, a study published Tuesday has revealed.

The findings came as the government announced a multi-million-dollar program to support science teaching in British schools.

New data published Tuesday showed more than a quarter of teenagers in England are considering a career in science, while three-quarters of pupils believe their science lessons are helping to prepare them for life post education.

The results also showed more pupils in England report being given greater opportunity in science lessons to explain their ideas, draw conclusions from an experiment and conduct investigations than pupils in other high-performing countries.

To support the teaching of science in schools, the British government has announced a 12.1 million pound (15.38 million U.S. dollars) investment until 2019. The program will be delivered through a network of national science learning partnerships and also support schools to encourage more teenagers to take exams in the three triple science subjects, physics, chemistry and biology.

More than a quarter of pupils (28 percent) in England hope to be working in a science-related career by the time they are 30, a significant increase compared to 16 percent in 2006.

More than 5,000 teenagers were tested and surveyed in England and asked about their learning experience and future aspirations. Endit