Leading Lights announced in STEMNET Awards
The 2010 STEMNET Awards took place on 21st June 2010. The Awards highlight the extraordinary achievements of individuals and organisations in energising STEM learning to captivate the next generation of scientists. The Awards were presented to winning individuals and organisations by writer, broadcaster and scientist, Vivienne Parry, at a ceremony at the House of Lords, hosted by Lord Oxburgh.
The Awards celebrate the work of young people, teachers, Ambassadors and employers involved in STEMNET programmes including STEM Ambassadors and STEM Clubs. STEMNET currently has more than 21,000 STEM Ambassador volunteers across the UK who give their time and enthusiasm free of charge to inspire young people in STEM subjects and careers. Many schools run extra-curricular STEM Clubs to provide their pupils with even more opportunities to get involved with exciting STEM activities and projects, enabling them to develop further their creativity, enquiry and problem-solving skills.
The common factor amongst all STEMNET’s Award winners is that they demonstrate remarkable inventiveness and dedication in bringing STEM careers and subjects to life for all students. Activities range from developing an Applied Science BTEC which involved demonstrating a product’s development from R&D through to commercialisation, to getting pupils to design and build a wind turbine, manufacture a new diabetes meter or even investigate the best structure for a tall jelly to enter into the Tallest Jelly Competition.
The winners of the four awards are:
1. Most Dedicated STEM Ambassador Award: Sam Whitmarsh, AstraZeneca, Bristol and Bath
2. Most Dedicated Employer Award: LifeScan Scotland Ltd
3. Most Dedicated Teacher Award: Rebekah Hodson, Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College
4. Most Dedicated STEM Club Award: Bungay High School (Suffolk)
Yvonne Baker, STEMNET Chief Executive says: “Encouraging all young people to achieve their potential in science, maths, technology and engineering is key, both for their future and the future of the UK as a whole. Everyone has a role to play – schools, teachers, parents, volunteers and employers. The STEMNET Awards highlight some of the very best examples of people working together to enthuse young people with the excitement and possibilities to which these subjects, and associated careers, can lead.”
The event was attended by some of the UK’s most inspirational and dedicated STEM Ambassadors, teachers and STEM academics, representatives from businesses that are reliant on people with STEM skills, colleges and universities, organisations that represent and work with STEM and Members of Parliament.
Yvonne Baker adds: “The Ambassadors, employers, schools and teachers that we work with make a huge impact on how young people view STEM subjects and careers. Their passion shines through and that enthusiasm is contagious. We would like to thank everyone who supports young people in these ways – your contribution is enormous.”
Most Dedicated STEM Ambassador
Sam Whitmarsh, from AstraZeneca in Bristol and Bath, is an experienced STEM Ambassador having joined the programme in 2008. Since then he has unreservedly given up his time to support local schools. One of his huge undertakings has been to help develop an Applied Science BTEC for Bedminster Down School. He has developed an industrial case study to demonstrate a product’s development from R&D through to commercialisation, which the school and pupils can apply to learning through the BTEC. Other activities have included delivering a talk on thermodynamics, sessions on drug development, judging awards and supporting events.
Other finalists included Dr Femke van den Berg from BBSRC, Dr Genoveva Esteban from Queen Mary University of London and Dominic Trueman from Metronet.
Most Dedicated Employer Award
Part of multi-national company, Johnson & Johnson, LifeScan Scotland Ltd has a made a huge commitment to the STEM Ambassadors programme with 55 employees ranging from apprentices right up to the Executive Director of Quality Assurance acting as STEM Ambassadors. LifeScan Scotland Ltd actively encourages its staff to participate and work with local schools but before they can do so, it is compulsory for them to have gone through the STEM Ambassadors training. Ambassadors are given paid time off to attend the induction and undertake activities with schools. Activities its STEM Ambassadors undertake with local schools may range from designing and building a wind turbine to designing and manufacturing a new diabetes meter. Its work in the local community gives pupils the opportunity to be inspired by real scientists and engineers.
Other finalists in this category include Atkins Ltd, AstraZeneca PLC, BP Chemicals Ltd, Perkins Engines Company Limited and QinetiQ.
Most Dedicated Teacher Award
Rebekah Hodson (pictured with Will Butler-Adams from Brompton Bicycle), is Head of Science at Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College in Herefordshire. Rebekah delivers a rich and varied programme of events and opportunities for her pupils. She also goes the extra mile by working collaboratively with other schools to share expertise and to support the development of mainstream curriculum and E&E courses. She seeks out and carefully selects the best activities to create an inspiring programme for each year group, catering for pupils of all abilities, aptitudes and interests. She has made valuable contacts with local businesses, bringing speakers into the school to enhance the teaching of the applied science courses. She also hosts STEM CPD events at the school. She has demonstrated a combination of personal commitment and leadership qualities, which have created a flourishing environment within her department, supporting activities both inside and outside the curriculum.
The other finalists for this award were Sarah Connon, Ashton Community Science College (Ribbleton Campus), Martyn Crawshaw, Millburn Academy, Inverness, and Mike Grocott, Callington Community College.
Most Dedicated STEM Club
The STEM Club at Bungay High School in Suffolk is lead by teacher, Nick Thomas. This club has shown great enthusiasm and commitment since it was set up to involve its students in a wide range of STEM activities and events. It has maintained this passion to become a thriving and ongoing part of school activity. The club has looked for ways to work on a cross-curricular basis with teachers from science, D&T and maths. At the weekly events run over the past two years they have covered a wide range of projects including bridge construction from paper and sellotape, crash test investigations into crumple zones, fingerprinting, DNA extraction, researching and mounting a remote telescope on the school roof, building and launching compressed air rockets and even investigating the best structure for a tall jelly and taking part in the Tallest Jelly Competition! They have also organised and hosted a regional STEM Club Celebration Event involving five secondary schools and activities arranged by leading employers such as EDF Energy, BT Openreach and the Unversity of East Anglia.
The other finalists for this Award were Cottenham Primary School in Cambridgeshire and King Charles I School, Kidderminster.
For more information about the STEMNET awards, please email info@stemnet.org.uk or call 020 3206 0450.
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