ABSTRACT
Why should pupils at school study science? What is school science for? Seemingly, the questions have little point since the answers are straight-forward and self-evident. Young people are growing up in a world which is increasingly shaped and controlled by science and technology, and innovation in these fields underpins not only economic prosperity but also the many social and other changes which will affect them in ways that in some cases cannot yet even be imagined. Science and technology are among the great imaginative and cultural achievements of the human race and the ability to function effectively as a citizen in the modern world seems to demand some scientific knowledge allied with an insight into the nature of the scientific endeavour.
