SCHOOLING/EDUCATION
engineering is a job for the boys, think-tank says. Really?
Teachers still think
There’s a shortfall of engineers coming to the UK. We asked Patricia Woodhouse, Headmistress of Malvern St James Girls’ School, to talk to Envoy about encouraging girls to take up such a career path. A little bird told us they were already a pretty good example!
engineers to the tune of 250,000 by the end of the decade, and of the current workforce just 7% are women. Teachers and careers guidance staff too often put girls off studying the subject, still believing it is a career for ‘brainy boys’ the report said. Shortly afterwards Nicky Morgan, Education Secretary, stepped in to launch the ‘Your Life’ campaign which aims to raise the number of students studying maths and physics at ‘A’ Level by 50% within three years, with a particular emphasis on girls. “Teenaged girls must not be allowed to feel that maths and science are ‘the preserve of men’”, she said.
A
As Head of a girls’ school, this is an issue close to my heart. I’m sure my counterparts (of both single sex and co-educational schools) across the country agree that the gloomy figures speak for themselves, and there is a dire need to up the statistics for girls and science, even if we reject the notion – certainly in my experience – that teachers reinforce the myth that certain careers are ‘for boys’.
So, how does the school ensure that they are making the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) exciting, and switching girls on to their potential?
We know that we have been doing something right as we are seeing record number of girls studying STEM subjects at GCSE and ‘A’ Level, and a record number of girls getting involved with STEM-based Clubs and school challenges. Last year alone, girls
30 Envoy Spring 2015
www.raf-ff.org.uk
report out recently from the Institute for Public Policy Research stated that there will be a shortfall of
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64