Full steam ahead for Junior School STEM Learning Lab

St Mary's Junior School has successfully secured planning approval for its ambitious plans for a new, dedicated STEM Learning Lab.

The proposed plans will take St Mary's STEM provision to the next level, enabling our specialist STEM teachers to further nurture students on their journey to becoming tomorrow's innovators. The STEM lab will be developed on the Junior School site and puts forward an original and exciting design, which includes:

• A large teaching display
• Clever storage for STEM equipment
• Flexible folding desks, which can be hidden to open up floor space for collaborative, practical tasks

This development will build on a strong track record for STEM in Junior School - a STEM Ambassador School - where students have celebrated success as international iCool Robotics finalists, national RoboCupJunior Champions.

At St Mary's, STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) are taught from Reception onwards. Sparking an interest in these subjects at a young age is vital if we want to encourage more women to pursue STEM careers in the future - an exciting and rapidly growing field. Through our integrated, specialist-taught STEM curriculum St Mary's is inspiring girls and laying the foundations for future careers. Our ambitious curriculum extends beyond the classroom to include talks, events and adventures at the National Space Centre, the Institute of Astronomy, BT's headquarters and, more locally, to explore and study Cambridge's famous Mathematical Bridge.

The impact of this approach is clearly evident, as in Sixth Form the uptake of STEM subjects at A Level at St Mary's is much higher than in co-educational settings. A dedicated STEM lab in Junior School will enable St Mary's girls to take their exploration of these amazing subjects even further.

As Matthew O'Reilly, Head of Junior School comments "Our ambitious STEM provision sets us apart and with specialist teachers already inspiring our girls with the incredible possibilities these subjects open up, the development of a STEM lab is an exciting next step in consolidating our exceptional provision."

If you would like to talk further about this project and learn how you can support the future innovators of tomorrow with a donation to our project fund please contact: Charlotte Avery or Emma Hanbury for details.

STEM in Junior School