Newspaper science, school science: friends or enemies?

Learning through newspapers is considered an instance of informal science learning ‐ an area of learning which is notoriously difficult to assess, and its relationship with formal learning hard to unravel. It is argued that the science presented in newspapers can be of value in formal science education if used carefully and critically. From the other perspective, it is suggested that one of the aims of the science curriculum should be to develop in students both the will and the ability to study newspaper science with understanding and with healthy scepticism.