This February issue includes a comprehensive write-up of the 2019 ASE Annual Conference in Reading, plus a feature on science teacher and technician recruitment and retention: the steps that ASE and others are taking to try to halt the worrying decline in the number of teachers and technicians leaving the profession.  Along with the usual range of news items and committee updates, there is the regular Prep Room feature for technicians and the announcement of the winner of the 2018 ASE Book of the Year Award.