Professor Brian Cox :You don’t have to be a genius to become a scientist

You don't have to be a genius to become a scientist: Professor Brian Cox backs The Big Bang career path

TV brainbox Brian Cox has told pupils and parents that children do not have to be 'Stephen Hawking or Einstein' to become a scientist.

The professor said he wants to alter the 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, but two thirds of parents hold back from encouraging their youngsters to think about these fields because they lack knowledge about them, according to a new survey.

Mission: Professor Brian Cox wants to change the perception that science is only for the most gifted children

The poll of 3,000 parents, conducted by The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair, found that almost a third (31 per cent) have no idea about the jobs available in these areas and nearly one in five (19 per cent) find science and engineering too difficult to understand.

Professor Cox, a supporter of the Big Bang, said more children were becoming interested in science, in part thanks to scientific developments like the creation of the Large Hadron Collider, which is being used to attempt to recreate conditions just after the Big Bang that created the universe.

Universities are also witnessing a rise in applications, particularly for physics and maths, he said.

But he added it was clear from the survey that there was still a perception issue, especially with parents.

'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,' he said.

'You don't need to be a genius.'

Choice: A survey revealed parents steer their children away from science because they do not know enough about it

'I find when I go to schools, if there's a problem, it's this idea that it (science) is hard and you've got to be a genius. The interest is there.'

Role models are important, Prof Cox said, adding 'one of the problems we have had in the past is science being seen as something that old men do'.

But the advent of more science on TV, fronted by younger scientists, has helped, as has links to other areas like comedy, he said.

Hit: Dara O Briain's recent science programme was a success

Earlier this month, Irish comedian Dara O'Briain fronted a live astronomy show, Stargazing Live, for the BBC alongside Prof Cox.

Developments like this 'show that science is something you're allowed to be interested in,' he said.

The survey found that one in 10 (10 per cent) of parents still label scientists and engineers as 'geeks', with a similar proportion saying they would prefer it if their child followed the TV talent show route.

It also revealed a gender divide, with a quarter saying science as a career is more suited to boys, and 36 per cent saying the same about engineering.

Prof Cox, who has hosted programmes such as Wonders Of The Solar System, admitted that over the past few years universities have had to teach new undergraduates more maths.

'We do spend a lot of time in the first year teaching maths,' he said.

He added there was a difficulty in education, including schools, 'because you don't want to teach them a 1950s maths curriculum, where you take all the emotional reaction to science out of them because they have to learn to solve equations all the time'.

Prof Cox 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'.

This can be helped by more support for research and for science teachers in schools, as well as moves to encourage more specialist scientists into the classroom, he said

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