Eur-eek-a! Pupil's 40ft leap of faith for science

Forget the periodic table or Archimedes' theory - these are science lessons as they've never been seen before.

Pupils made superglue then tested it by dangling from a crane on the South Bank and a child was attached to a bunch of balloons and asked to leap from40 feet up in Alexandra Palace to learn about gas density.

This was The Big Experiment, an attempt by three of Britain's leading scientists to convince a group of teenagers from east London that the subject is not boring - and to speed them through the GCSE science curriculum.

Their efforts will be screened as a six-part series on the Discovery Channel from Thursday.

The teenagers, pupils at Royal Docks Community School in Newham, had mixed abilities and backgrounds. Many would not list science as a favourite subject. One girl's comment - "It's boring. I hate my teacher" - was typical.

Yet, by the end, all 16 had passed foundation-level science GCSE 18 months early and with marks well above the national average.

Physics teacher Andrew Broadhurst, vice-chairman of the Professional Association of Teachers, said: "Teachers rarely have time to try something new.

This series might give them some ideas, even if much of what is shown would be impossible to repeat in a normal school."

Executive producer Andra Heritage said: "The kids who took part had an amazing experience."