Promoting inclusivity in physics: Lessons from the Institute of Physics Limit Less campaign

REBECCA MACK, PHYSICS TEACHER, LOUGHBOROUGH GRAMMAR SCHOOL, UK Introduction Physics has a long-standing image problem. The Institute of Physics (IOP) Limit Less campaign promotes diversity in physics by tackling stereotypes and broadening participation. It highlights diverse physicists, reframes problems to include different perspectives and addresses unconscious biases. The campaign supports underrepresented students at all stages, including girls, disadvantaged students and those with disabilities. Studies from the past decade reveal the scale of the challenge: fewer than 23 per cent of A-level physics students in England are female; students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are three times less likely to study physics than their least deprived peers; and only 13 per cent of UK physics undergraduates have a known disability (IOP, 2020). Yet the campaign’s principles resonate even in unexpected contexts, such as our all-boys private grammar school. Here, I explore how thes