STEM
allows them to really enjoy that side of things,” says Cameron Holmes. Pupils are also highly successful. At St Faith’s, for example, 25% of pupils achieved gold in the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge, while those sitting senior school scholarship exams in STEM-related areas achieved outstanding results. Schools in our area report a rise in independent thinking, curiosity, confidence and enthusiasm. “We are seeing pupils transfer skills fluently between different applications and programming languages – all underpinned by the computational thinking skills we start building from the age of three. When learning activities feel relevant, we see the children rise to it,” says Andrew Severy at St Mary’s, adding: “The levels of interest and creativity across all ages and abilities have been remarkable.”
academic goal in mind, while the popular Forensics CSI Day at St Faith’s shows how techniques such as DNA extraction help solve crimes. Many other activities shine a light on different facets of STEM, whether that’s bringing in outside speakers or entering competitions, from maths and science challenges and Olympiads to designing and building a functioning car. With creativity, fun and relatability now the norm in STEM lessons and outside the classroom, pupils are responding with enthusiasm. At Kimbolton, for example, while many students continue to opt for science and maths alone, an increasing number take at least one STEM subject alongside other academic disciplines at A-level. “I think it’s that excitement, that hands-on idea of the STEM subjects, that
activities are breathtakingly varied as well as astonishingly extensive. Energetic teachers regularly whisk pupils out of school to experience different aspects of STEM, locally and further afield. For St Faith’s pupils that might include a trip to the University Museum of Zoology, while pupils at Kimbolton School have visited CERN, home to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Within our schools, STEM-related clubs and societies cover a vast range of topics. Abbey College Cambridge’s extensive programme for aspiring medical and veterinary students includes lessons on medical ethics and offers help with clinical shadowing and relevant volunteering, linking it firmly (and successfully) to specific STEM-related careers. Others – like the astronomy GCSE offered outside of the regular timetable at Kimbolton School – have a particular TO THE STARS Kimbolton School (below) offers several unique opportunities, such as facilitating GCSE astronomy or going on STEM-related excursions like their recent trip to CERN
With creativity, fun and relatability now the norm in STEM lessons, pupils are responding with enthusiasm
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK JULY 2026 53
Powered by FlippingBook