News
News
STEM Horizons launches hubs in two new regions, extending Computer Science support to a further 700+ students
From September, two new STEM Horizons Hubs will partner with local state schools to support an additional 720 young people aged 13–16 to develop their Computer Science skills. Kingswood School, Bath, will lead a new South West Hub, while Bolton School will establish a North West Hub. Together, the two new partnerships will support 320 students through the core programme to boost GCSE Computer Science grades and inspire a further 400 Year 9 students to explore the subject through the Bright Sparks programme.
Bolton and Kingswood join an existing network of five hubs, led by the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle; Magdalen College School, Oxford; UCS Hampstead; Norwich School; and Oundle. Each hub works closely with at least five local state schools, focusing on intakes with above-average proportions of students eligible for free school meals. Specialist hub teachers deliver weekly Computer Science teaching aligned to the bespoke STEM Horizons curriculum, alongside wraparound maths support and aspiration-raising activities. With the two new hubs, STEM Horizons will reach more than 3,000 students over the three-year pilot.
The programme tackles the significant shortage of specialist Computer Science teachers, felt most acutely in schools serving disadvantaged communities. STEM Horizons is being independently evaluated by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), assessing its impact on GCSE attainment and students’ aspirations to pursue further STEM studies and tech pathways.
Read more at: STEM Horizons | Building tomorrow's tech leaders today
Both Kingswood School and Bolton School possess strong expertise in both partnership working and the delivery of Computer Science education. They also demonstrate a clear and evident commitment to improving educational opportunities for students from more disadvantaged backgrounds. We are confident that they will make a highly valuable contribution to this programme as it grows and builds important evidence of impact.
I am delighted that we have been given this opportunity to further enhance our partnership work in the STEM space. The STEM Horizons Project is an exciting pilot which facilitates independent, state school collaboration in such an important area, in such a practical way, and it’s an honour for Kingswood to lead the new South West hub. We are very grateful for the support of the Hg Foundation and look forward working with our local partner schools to share our expertise in computer science and to inspire new cohorts of pupils in Year 9 to take this up as a challenging option for their GCSE studies.
We are delighted to become a STEM Horizon Hub and to work with the Hg Foundation expanding access to high-quality computer science education. This initiative reflects our longstanding commitment to meaningful partnerships and to sharing expertise that benefits young people across our local community.
