Early Friday evening, whilst standing in the senior school reception area, I become aware of a steady crocodile of Year 8 students arriving at the front door with overnight cases and sleeping bags. Initially perplexed, I quickly recollected that this was the night of the science sleepover. Our brilliant science staff had arranged an exciting evening of science with birds of prey let loose in the hall, an amazing array of cool scientific experiments and a showing of “Up” to cap an evening of scientific fun. Whether the girls slept is of course a moot point.
Events like this really matter. Schools should encourage a genuine interest in science. In today’s world, where scientific literacy is arguably as important as literacy and numeracy, students must really engage with their learning so it is learnt for life and not just for the next test. I therefore applaud the opening of the new Science Centre in Jesus Lane with a brief to offer science outreach to schools. In a city with a global reputation for scientific innovation and more Nobel Prize winners than you can shake a stick at, it seems wholly appropriate that schools should enjoy access to a dedicated resource designed to enhance learning in science.
This imperative is of course part of a broader educational issue. Here in Cambridge where Silicon Fenenjoys a symbiotic relationship with the university, there is a real emphasis on STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. And the entrepreneurs who imagine our future are greedy for young talent; their problem is that not enough young people are interested. An interesting statistic for me relates to the number of women who enter careers in STEM. As STEM careers outpace job growth in all other industries, women hold only 17% of jobs in science and technology in the UK – a figure decreasing yearly. Given that 80% of jobs in the next decade are likely to require significant technical skills there clearly is a crisis brewing.
Yet inspiration is at hand. The community of entrepreneurs in Cambridge are acutely conscious that more needs to be done to encourage young people to pursue STEM subjects. Essentially the cavalry has been called in aka Silicon Valley Comes to the UK (SVC2UK). For the last two years successful entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley in the States have come over en masse to visit schools – they also squeeze in trips to Downing Street and Cambridge University. Their mission?: to unlock the mystery of entrepreneurship to a British audience and the vital importance of STEM.
We are delighted that our school has enjoyed visits from a range of hugely successful and interesting entrepreneurs. The most recent visit is captured in a film produced by SVC2UK: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ec7IGJsOb38i.
The visiting entrepreneurs made a huge impression on our students. What is exciting to me is the possibility of sharing their inspiration with other schools. This is where Sherry Coutu enters the fray @scoutu. Sherry, a successful entrepreneur and a driving force behind SVC2UK, is determined to offer this opportunity to half a million students. Not a woman to be daunted by a number, her team is devising a clever method of making this possible. We are delighted that SVC2UK wants to work with The Stephen Perse Foundation in piloting this scheme. My role is to act as an ambassador, encouraging as many schools as possible to become involved. My twitter platform is a fantastic conduit for spreading the news.
So the challenge is clear – the gauntlet is down. A generation of young people face a world of opportunities. Let’s make it happen.