Our innovative STEM education is recognised by Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards
St Mary's School has been selected as a finalist in the 2019 Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards, in recognition of our success in encouraging girls to engage in and excel in STEM subjects from a young age.
St Mary's joins a list of finalists working in diverse areas of STEM across Cambridge, including leading biotech and cleantech companies, artificial intelligence and agritech innovators and those working in the education sector.
Our success as finalists recognises our pro-active approach to engaging girls in STEM from age four onwards. From STEM afternoons to inspiring visiting speakers and extra-curricular clubs, through to robotics at BT Headquarters or space exploration at the National Space Centre - engaging girls in STEM in integral to our education.
We are also working to engage more young people in STEM, beyond our School. In 2019, we expanded our outreach work, with funding from the Royal Society of Chemistry to support the delivery of: ‘Bridging Chemistry with the world around us’ – five practical lessons for Years 4 and 5 pupils from four local state primary schools, hosted in our laboratories.
Our approach to STEM is delivering great success, as shown by our Junior School pupils, who represented the UK at the RoboCupJunior Euro 2019 Robotics Championships in Germany. Our girls (aged 11) were the only primary-school-age team to enter in Europe, and the only all-girl team! Following a hard-fought final match, our girls finished in 8th in Europe overall – a fantastic achievement.
We see the positive impact of our approach to STEM in Sixth Form and beyond, with St Mary’s girls pursuing a diverse range of STEM A Levels, degree courses and careers. Recently, St Mary's leavers have gone on to study engineering, veterinary science, biomedical science, medicine, biochemistry and computer science at leading universities across the UK.
The Awards judging panel commented: “We were hugely impressed with the quality and range of entries, which demonstrated, once more, the breadth of talent in this area.”
Matthew O'Reilly, Head of Junior School said: "Cambridge is a hub of innovation for STEM, and we are delighted to be shortlisted amongst so many impressive organisations. Our commitment to engaging girls in STEM has created fantastic opportunities for our pupils, not least in competing internationally in the RoboCupJunior Euro competition. I am very proud of both our pupils and dedicated teaching team."
St Mary's School will join other finalists for an awards ceremony, at the Bradfield Centre, a deep tech hub on Cambridge Science Park, which offers collaborative workspaces, networking opportunities and support for innovative companies.
STEM in Junior School
Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards