The spanish high school physics curriculum has been reduced in the recent years and, contemporarily, it has become non compulsory. Such policy has contributed to utterly diminish a previous decaying interest on physics among students at this level. The expected consequences of this situation, such as a generalized illiteracy in physics and a decaying number of students choosing physics at a university level, are starting to be verified.

In order to promote physics studies and to contribute to the improvement of the teaching and learning in physics on the high school level, the “Working Group in Physics” of the Servicio de Formación Permanente de la Universidad de Valencia (University Permanent Training Office), constituted in 1999 and formed by high school teachers and university professors of physics, has coordinated a variety of activities:

1. Physics training courses adressed to high school teachers and taught by professors of different physics departments have been organized. In these courses special attention has been paid to experiments, particularly to low cost and versatile demonstrations which can be easily applied to the high school environment, and different CD-ROM with the courses teaching materials have been produced.These are the only teacher training initiatives which have been offered in the recent years in our region.
2. New technologies applied to the high school level: series of talks in which the use of programs such as Power Point or more specific simulation programs for scientific teaching or virtual museum visits have been shown.
3. University-high school exchange sessions, in which high school students work in the physics faculty laboratories under the supervision of university professors, and with materials adapted to their level. We are now aware that this activity is very positive in the students decision to undertake a physics course in the last year of high school.
4. A program of "portable experiment suitcases", in which, after an initial training, high school teachers can sequentially borrow an experimental set-up which is easily transported and operated in the classroom.
5. Organization of intensive physics teachers meetings in which seminars and practical workshops directed to high school teachers are held.

We consider that an important feature of our group is its cross-institutional character, which has led, in our opinion, to the success of our initiatives and its increasing demand, specially those concerning experimental demonstrations. We are very much concerned with the seriusness of the situation, and we are aware that the roots of the problem start in the early educational stages, to which we will adress a part of our future initiatives.