Beyond the British Science Festival: charting the legacy
The British Science Festival (BSF) Southampton 2026 will be remembered, not only for bringing science to thousands of people, but for creating lasting connections between research, communities, young people, partners and the city itself, while leaving the University with stronger public engagement capability and confidence. Staff Matters takes a look at the impact of the Festival.
Ben Littlefield, Head of Public Engagement, Research & Innovation Service, said:
“The British Science Festival was a resounding success. We exceeded our target of 15,000 visitors and welcomed more than 500 students from across the region to our Schools and Colleges programme. In addition, our digital reach soared with 1.2 million social media views, complemented by widespread coverage across regional, national, and international press. Together, these achievements should significantly reinforce our position as a leading voice in the scientific community.”
“In preparing for the Festival, a huge emphasis was placed on schools, inclusion, partnerships and sponsorship, all of which have led to significant potential for follow-on relationships to co-create responses to society’s critical challenges.
“One of the most important legacies must be the human one: young people who visited campus and left feeling that science, research and university spaces were “for people like me’’.
While the full legacy of the British Science Festival will take time to unfold, here is a glimpse of the incredible impacts and initiatives it has helped bring to life so far:
Youth Panel involvement in future public engagement festivals and events
Young people were at the heart of planning for the festival. A panel of young people from Southampton worked with the Festival team and LifeLab, the University’s research-based educational project, to help curate the five-day programme.
They helped develop ideas for venues and activities, ensuring that the festival reflected the diverse interests and creativity of Southampton’s young people.
Building on the success of this youth engagement initiative, the University’s Public Engagement with Research unit (PERu) have been inspired to explore recreating this way of working to enhance future festivals, such as Southampton Science and Engineering Festival and Southampton Arts and Humanities Festival.
CastAway in Bitterne. The CastAway pop up Performance in Bitterne village and Guildhall Square demonstrated how the British Science Festival, in collaboration with the University and its partners, was able to reach beyond traditional venues and become part of everyday community life. Its legacy lies not only in the experience of the performance itself, but in strengthening the idea that research, culture and public engagement is for everyone and can thrive in local communities and high streets across Southampton.
Increased collaboration between local artists and researchers. A major series of arts-science commissions took place as part of the festival, with three of the city’s leading cultural institutions – Turner Sims, John Hansard Gallery and Mayflower Studios – each co-commissioning new work in partnership with the BSF.
These commissions represent the beginning of longer-term collaborations. In future, PERu aims to continue exploring ways to support mutually beneficial collaborations with the Arts and Culture sector to generate wider and more cross-disciplinary engagement activity, with the potential to model examples of how research can creatively engage public audiences.
New learning resources will be available for schools. As part of the Turner Sims’ engagement programme and ‘The Ocean Remembers’ new musical work, secondary pupils across four schools in Southampton and the Isle of Wight attended workshops culminating in new musical compositions inspired by marine research. This generated new learning resources available for schools, supported by Southampton & Isles of Wight Music (SIOW Music).
Enhanced engagement activities for underrepresented areas
Satellite event – The Future Chemistry Hub organised and delivered by the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering – Matthew Partridge, Director of Outreach in the School, said:
“The BSF provided us with an amazing opportunity to showcase brand-new outreach and public engagement ideas. The Future Chemistry Hub was one of the largest in-house outreach events the School has ever delivered, involving more than 120 staff and students. We welcomed visitors from the BSF’s schools programme (several schools making multiple visits), members of the University of the Third Age (U3A) and the wider public, engaging audiences of all ages with chemistry and chemical engineering.”
The legacy of these activities will be reused at the Winchester Science Centre and within further public engagement platforms such as UoS Science and Engineering Festival (SOTSEF).
The Faculty of Medicine Engineering Better Health activity, led by Alix Chadwell, Liz Allway and Weronika Bialoa, showcased solutions to healthcare and medical trials. Tools created by the team for engagement will have a future purpose and will be used with interns and future involvement of students in mind.
Improved relationship with industry
One of the Festival’s lasting legacies is the strengthened relationships with sponsors and industry partners. The festival provided an opportunity to connect with industry partners and spark conversations around future funding, collaborative projects, social value and civic engagement opportunities. The Industry Relations team is committed to translating this momentum into sustained coordinated partnerships across the institution, that support the University’s strategic objectives and public engagement ambitions.
Construction company, Willmott Dixon partnered with the BSF to run an activity and panel on the circular economy and eliminating waste. Content discussed and presented as part of this panel will be formed into a professionally produced digital e-book, celebrating circular economy champions and ideas to shape how people think about repurposing materials, minimising waste and reducing embodied carbon.
Technology Company, Lenovo felt their contribution as festival sponsor helped strengthen their reputation and provision within the University sector. They will continue to work with the University through their commitment to supporting higher education and technological research initiatives.
Widening Participation and Recruitment
Thanks to the strong cross-institutional collaboration between PERu, Access, Widening Participation & Social Mobility, the School of Education, and the Recruitment and internal school programme activity leads, over 500 students and over 50 teachers attended the festivals dedicated school’s programme.
Long-term relationships have been sustained and developed with schools, colleges and youth organisations, particularly supporting widening participation and helping young people see higher education and research as accessible to them.
50% of students that responded to the schools’ programme survey said that taking part in the British Science Festival made them more interested in studying at the University of Southampton and around 60% of students’ views had changed as a result of visiting the campus.
40% of students who visited as part of the school’s programme agreed with the statement: ’The University of Southampton does research that matters to people like me’.
One school student said:
“I’d say it’s made me see [the University of Southampton] as a place where lots of important things can happen.”
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