The advanced high-school physics in Israel is directed towards a high stake exam. In 2015 a new subject, titled "Inquiry-Physics", was introduced to the Israeli education system as an addition to the traditional physics course. It intends to bypass the difficulty of integrating open ended inquiry activities into test oriented setting, while maintaining the classroom teacher as the students' advisor in their inquiry projects. The three-year high school timeframe allows for a gradual learning progression. An introductory stage takes place for 1.5 year in a whole classroom setting, and involves the development of inquiry practices in semi-structured activities. The second stage involves a yearlong research project, and is performed in teams including two students and their advisor. The implementation of the new subject is accompanied with a teacher preparation program, as well as ongoing support for teachers advising their students in research projects. I will describe the rationale and structure of the teacher preparation program taking place at the Weizmann Institute, as well as findings from an interview study, examining students' perception of the introductory stage. In particular, I will present which inquiry practices that students have encountered in the introductory stage they perceive as crucial to experience before engaging in a long term project.