8 schools join Thornton College for inspiring annual STEM careers event
Earlier this year Thornton College hosted its annual STEM event, welcoming over 300 students from eight different schools across the Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire area.
Thornton College was formed in 1917. A boarding and day school for girls, they provide a complete education from 3 to 18 and educate over 410 pupils today.
The event showcased the fantastic career opportunities available to young women in STEM fields and was supported by 24 companies discussing their industries, as well as the varied employment and apprenticeship options to pupils. Some of the organisations included the F1 arm of Aston Martin, ABB Robotics, AECOM, FCDO, Santander, Cranfield University and Volkswagen.
All of Thornton College’s senior students attended the event and had undertaken research relating to the companies involved in advance. The commitment from Thornton College to inspire in STEM has long been evident with this annual event, but what makes it truly special is that young people from eight local state schools were invited to join, widening the access to expertise from the industry’s innovators and the reach of their advice to an underrepresented community of the field.
Thornton College work closely with many leading companies who support the delivery of careers events like this, which offer students insight into job sectors that they have not previously considered or heard about in depth. The impact and value of STEM was highlighted in many industries from Engineering to Pharmaceuticals, Business to Robotics and much more.
The key attribute that links all these wonderful STEM careers is the need to be creative thinkers. Students heard about a medical technology company that has prototyped a musical airway clearance device for people with chronic respiratory diseases. This is being trialled by Imperial College London, supported by the NHS and a perfect example of how creativity, science and business can come together to produce exciting innovation.
Girls were introduced to the role of an aerodynamicist in F1 from Aston Martin, learnt about spatial design from architect Michela Falcone, had the opportunity to talk to Network Rail apprentices, understand how construction sites function with Morgan Sindall and Jackson, explore pathways in the Army, quiz clinicians from Milton Keynes Hospital and even interact with Robots from ABB Robotics.
Louise Shaw, Head Teacher at Thornton College, added:
“Thornton is delighted to be hosting another STEM event for our students and for local schools. We cannot emphasise enough how important it is for young people today to be forward thinking and to make the all-important links with industry, which lead to a professional career in which they will thrive.”
Despite less than 23% of women entering STEM careers worldwide, a culture has been built at Thornton College that seeks to challenge this with STEM subjects the most popular in Sixth Form.
Jo Scott, Enterprise and Careers Leader for the school said:
“Our aim is to provide a platform for employers, young people and educational providers to develop invaluable partnerships. We are thrilled that students from eight local schools joined us at this year’s event and we are proud to be a STEM School and the Independent School of Year (2021) for our Careers programme.”
Thornton College’s mission is to educate girls to meet the challenges of life in a changing world courageously, use their talents to the fullest and to understand what they’re capable of contributing in the context of the wider community, all underpinned by the Catholic values that they were founded upon.