Putney High School Sixth Formers Spreading STEM Message


Pair encouraging local school children with fun workshops

Ikram and Miami – Year 13 students at Putney High School GDST
Ikram and Miami – Year 13 students at Putney High School GDST

Two sixth formers from Putney High School GDST are using their own experience to encourage local children from Years 5 and 6 to enjoy STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).

They have been seeking to inspire the primary school pupils with some fun and engaging STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) based challenges.

The hope is that the younger children will be inspired to follow their footsteps studying STEM subjects at senior school and university.

The “Access to Success” workshops are the brainchild of Miami and Ikram in Putney High School’s Year 13, both of whom joined Putney in the Sixth Form as bursary students. Fifteen pupils from Hotham Primary in Putney will be joining their first, “Access to STEM” Maths workshop on Thursday 24 November and a second, Science based workshop is scheduled to take place in the spring.

Miami and Ikram say they both feel passionately about the importance of sharing with local families the opportunities that are available to them through means-tested school places at schools like Putney. They are also hoping their initiative will continue to drive diversity.

Miami is studying Economics, Psychology and Maths at Putney and intends to study Economics at university. She explained, “Secondary school is a real step up, but the idea is to plant seeds in their heads and give them confidence…It might help them develop an interest in science that they hadn’t had before.”

Ikram is Putney’s Head Student and is taking A Levels in Biology, Chemistry, Maths. She explained, “At my previous school I took part in a STEM outreach project at Imperial College. There were lessons in Maths, Chemistry and Physics, covering a lot topics outside of the curriculum – it was a great experience and inspired me to apply to a school like Putney. I decided that setting up science sessions at Putney for primary school pupils would give them a taster and encourage them to apply.”

With the support of teachers and other Putney students, the workshops aim to be competitive, fun and engaging, involving the pupil visitors in relay challenges (Maths) and experiments in magnetism (Physics), microscope examinations (Biology) and flame tests (Chemistry).

Find out more about Putney’s partnership work with local schools and the community.

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November 15, 2022