More than 30 children from 14 different schools visited Parliament to present their research on perceptions and experiences of science, technology, engineering and maths to the Haringey STEM Commission. In September Haringey Council Leader, Cllr Claire Kober, set up the Haringey STEM commission and tasked them with thinking about ways to try and raise attainment and increase STEM opportunities in Haringey.
Over the last few weeks more than 600 Haringey school children have completed a survey conducted by the Haringey Young STEM Taskforce supported by the company Teen Tech into students’ attitudes to and experiences of STEM subjects.
The research – which will be used to inform the work of Haringey’s STEM Commission - found that more than 60 percent of secondary school children and 70 percent of primary school children said they were interested in working in the STEM sectors.
Haringey students also said they felt that “creativity” and “the ability to work in teams” were the most important qualities necessary to get ahead in STEM careers and that parents and teachers were their biggest influencers when it came to career choice.
Students presented their findings to an audience including Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, Baroness Sally Morgan, Chair of the Haringey STEM Commission and Maggie Philbin a commission member and CEO of TeenTech CIC – who helped to facilitate the research.
