SUBJECT CHOICES
Full STEAMAhead TO KEEP UP WI TH THE DEMANDS OF A MODERN WORLD, SCHOOLS ARE RETHINK ING HOW SUBJECTS ARE GROUPED AND TAUGHT
n addition to commemorating an amazing scientist and Covid-19 hero, the recent launch of the Sarah Gilbert Barbie doll also shows – if proof were needed – just how attitudes towards science and allied areas have changed. It’s a shift that was in motion well before the pandemic struck, as our regard for STEM subjects (that’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics to you and me), and the people who have mastered them, soared. The impact of STEM subjects on the learning experience has been quite extraordinary. In 2019, sciences were more popular with girls than boys, based on the numbers sitting them at A-level, while in 2020, the top A-levels across the board for all pupils were maths, psychology, biology and chemistry. Part of that is very largely down to the huge amount of work in our area’s schools to bring STEM subjects out of the lab, off the blackboard and into the limelight. And quite right, too, given their importance – not just to the young people who are studying them, but to the country as a whole. A couple of decades back, there was a sense that maths and the sciences were losing their popularity. With the world becoming ever more reliant on technology, it was essential to find a way of making these subject areas more appealing and relevant. What didn’t help was the traditional approach that kept different subjects in their own little boxes. Teaching delivered everything that was needed to
26 AUTUMN /WINTER 2021
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