Growing tall poppies: Increasing numbers of girls studying physics through partnerships

The ARC Centre of Excellence for Coherent X-ray Science headquartered in the School of Physics at the University of Melbourne, in collaboration with Santa Maria College, Northcote, a Catholic girls school in suburban Melbourne, has developed a partnership aimed at empowering girls to continue with their study of physics to Year 12. The program is called Crowing Tall Popples In Science: An authentic science experience for secondary students. The program has succeeded in doubling the number of girls studying physics at Santa Maria College. A longitudinal study identified the program's impact on students' subject selection, particularly physics in years 11 and 12. The results show a statistically significant increase in both students choosing year 11 physics and the retention of those students into year 12 physics.