Female scientists inspire our students

During Science Week, Dr Camilla Penney came to talk to Year 7 about her work as a geophysicist, studying earthquakes at the University of Cambridge. The girls were excited to hear about her field expeditions all over the world, researching the societal impact of earthquakes and considering how we can build better buildings so that there are fewer deaths and injuries as a result of buildings collapsing during earthquakes. She studied Natural Sciences at Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge, before specialising in Earth Sciences.

Dr Penney said: “I want to encourage girls to explore the whole range of STEM subjects and discover how they interlink – although I study earthquakes I am a physicist!”

Steph Bryant, the Youth and Schools Programme Officer at the Faraday Institute, came to talk to Year 10 on the same day to share with the girls what got her interested in science (she studied zoology at the University of Cambridge).

She commented: “Science is for everyone who is curious about the world around them. I would encourage everyone to get involved in science and see what they can find out.”