Physics involves knowledge and skills that are useful in today's world not only for students who will continue to the tertiary level, but also by those students joining the work force without tertiary education. This study explores the barriers that might deter year 10 students from understanding physics and hence choosing it later on in their formal education. It also investigates the perceptions of students and their science teachers about the way science is taught in some Victorian secondary schools. Year 10 students responded to a questionnaire exploring these issues, and their science teachers were interviewed in order to probe what they saw in the year 10 science course in their schools. The resulting data suggests that; it is not only the pedagogy, which influences students to see physics positively, it is also what is taught (physics in its context and content). Students indicated a preference to study cosmology rather than mechanics and electricity topics. Teachers saw that their attempts to have more students engaged with physics would be enhanced by having greater time to devoting, planning and implementing new teaching approaches (particularly to foster ideas about new teaching approaches), and adequate budget and resources in their school science departments so as to support changes. The results of this research support efforts to modify science teachers' approaches and techniques while teaching topics that year 10 students distinguished as preferable.