Last year Bill Bryson, pictured, donated his popular science book A Short History of Nearly Everything to secondary schools; now he’s using the royalties from the 5,500 copies, plus contributions from his publisher Transworld and the Royal School of Chemistry, to set up a schools award for clear science communication, which is also open to primary schools.
Schools and sixth-form colleges are asked to submit work aimed at a wide audience (beyond the pupil’s peer group) by the end of May, with prizes of up to pound;1,000. Primary pupils can enter work produced in a science club or after-school club, a poster, a contribution to a school magazine or a PowerPoint presentation. Secondary entries can include web pages and contributions to print or online magazines. See www.rsc.orgeducationbillbrysonindex.asp for more details.
