re: Here is one potential answer...
Ms Kenyon said she was encouraged "that unprompted, over one-third (39%) of students stated the best thing about studying science was taking part in practical experiments
Which is very telling. Not sure about UK, but a big part of anti-science attitudes in the US is the way it is taught -- facts presented ex officio to be memorized, instead of having students propose thories and test them via experiements (which is how science is actually done). Of course, that latter approach is more expensive in terms of equipment, and requires MUCH more imagination from the teachers. Sigh...