Science on a high for Brian

YOUNGSTERS don’t have to be Stephen Hawking or Albert Einstein to become a scientist, says a former Oldham student who became a TV star and professor.

Brian Cox says there is still a perception that a scientific career is only an option for the brightest students.

Medicine, science and engineering are the top careers that parents dream of their children following, but two thirds of parents hold back from encouraging their offspring to think about these fields because they lack knowledge about them. One in five find them difficult to understand, according to a poll.

Professor Cox, a former Hulme Grammar School pupil, said: “There’s a perception that it’s still very difficult and you have to be Stephen Hawking or Einstein to do it, particularly physics or maths.

“You don’t need to be a genius.”

He added that role models are important as science in the past was seen as something that old men did.

But more children were becoming interested in science, in part thanks to scientific developments like the creation of the Large Hadron Collider he’s involved in.

Universities are also witnessing a rise in applications, particularly for physics and maths. And the advent of more science on TV has helped.

The 42-year-old Saddleworth-based professor, a former keyboard player in 1990s band D:ream, said his criticism of the Government’s science policies is that they are “not joined up enough” and called for a “clear vision to make Britain the best place to do science and engineering”.

He wants more support for research and for science teachers in schools.