East London schools learn about STEM at NewVIc
East London schools learn about robotics, e-fit forensics, medical diagnostics and more with the NewVIc Enthuse STEM Programme.
NewVIc hosted an Enthuse STEM Programme earlier this month giving students from local boroughs and diverse backgrounds the chance to discover and understand STEM in the wider world.
More than 100 Year 8 and 9 students participated in the event from schools including; St Angela’s, St Bons, Oaklands, Royal Docks Academy, Skinners’ Academy, Bishop Challoner and Stepney All Saints.
Sessions were led by MCS Projects Ltd an organisation that aims to raise the aspirations of young people with a focus on science, technology, engineering and maths. Their staff of students from universities such as King's College London and Leeds University brought knowledge of their respective STEM-based subjects to enrich each session.
The ENTHUSE Partnerships improve young people's attainment and engagement in STEM subjects and develop awareness and understanding of STEM careers, contributing to the Gatsby Careers Benchmarks.
NewVIc has been part of the ENTHUSE programme for a year now; it is a two year funded programme of STEM focused partnerships between education, employers and STEM Learning.
The programme aims to empower schools and colleges to share good practice and work collaboratively to:
• address underachievement in STEM subjects
• inspire excellence in the STEM curriculum
• raise aspirations for STEM careers amongst young people
NewVIc is glad to lead an Enthuse partnership with Plashet School, Langdon Academy, Ellen Wilkinson Primary School and Kaizen Primary School.
Mosthak Ahmed, NewVIc alumni and Teacher of Chemistry and Physics at Skinners’ Academy, said:
“Being a former NewVIc student it is nostalgic being back at my college with my own students from my school. I miss so many things about NewVIc, there are too many things to list right now.
Today’s event for our year 9 students was brilliant. They learnt about problem solving, working with others from different schools and working collaboratively in order to carry out tasks for workshops has really improved on their social aspect as well. Our triple science students also had the opportunity to understand that there are many variations in sciences. All of our students who took part in the event quickly learnt the value of being part of a team and pushing their skillset as they rotated through the different workshops. They had fun and learnt lots. I am really proud of them all.”
Joshua, Imaan & Maida, Year 8 students from Stepney All Saints School, added:
“We had lots of fun today and learnt different things and met lots of new people. The sessions helped us think about our own futures, going to university and gaining more knowledge in the subject area.
Today benefitted us a lot. We improved our problem solving, learnt about engineering and it was great that our teachers also got involved in the activities. If we could come to NewVIc to do this again, we would and we recommend this to anyone interested in STEM subjects to participate in events like this at NewVIc where you can have fun, learn and discover more. Thank you to all the staff that ran this event.”
Emmanuel and Abid, Year 8 students from St Bonaventure, added:
“It’s been an amazing experience today. Really interesting and inspiring to think about our own futures and listen to the university students and their journeys as well as learn from them in their workshops. We really enjoyed working on the robotics and e-fit workshops. On top of learning lots today, it’s great that both of us have won a prize coming first for our overall participation, engagement and working with others in all of the workshops. We can’t believe it!”
Find out more about NewVIc’s Enthuse Programme here.