ABSTRACT
Science education, as part of the secondary school curriculum, has evolved over a period of more than a century. In that time there have been major shifts: at the start of the twentieth century it was a subject for a privileged minority, mostly male. In the twenty-first century, it would be unacceptable to suggest that science should be taught to only a tiny, male, ‘higher ability’ minority. Science is now seen as a subject for all pupils, all abilities, and both sexes. The slogan ‘some science for all’ now seems to be undeniable. The questions of whether it should be ‘the same science for all’ or some science for some and more for others, are debatable however, and always have been.
