Giving young people access to extra-curricular activities – ie, STEM Clubs - is more important than ever as we begin to understand the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic, and we’ve all seen various articles in the news recently focusing on this.
STEM Clubs offer young people valuable opportunities to explore STEM subjects in an informal setting, allowing them to experiment, ask questions, tackle challenges, work as a team, speak confidently and much more.
They enable students to link their curricular learning with the real world and increase their understanding of the importance of STEM within their lives. They also create opportunities for young people to enhance key essential skills desired by education and future employers and helps to increase student attainment.
We have a range of available evidence to support the importance of STEM Clubs. Our 2020 impact report shows that STEM Clubs have significant and measurable positive benefits to students, teachers, schools and colleges and employers.
Check out these case studies from Bayside Comprehensive School, Norton College and Didcot Girls School to discover how their STEM Clubs have inspired several years’ worth of students. Also, our STEM enrichment coordinator Jo Mitchell has written a comprehensive blog about how STEM Clubs enhance employability skills and promote careers – linked to the Gatsby Careers Benchmarks.
We also have a wide range of CPD covering everything you’ll need to equip you with the skills and confidence to set up your own STEM Club and ensure it thrives – check out the options here.
One of the many schools benefitting from a STEM Club is Felpham Community College – here’s a key quote from a teacher involved which illustrates the impact the club has had…
“Students are resoundingly positive about STEM club and are keen to attend. They are keen to experiment and explore ideas and are very vocal in expressing their enjoyment of activities. They thrive on challenging themselves and are not disheartened when things don’t go to plan. They display a great deal of resilience and determination. The club has provided them with an environment where they can try out and develop new skills.They mix with students from other year groups, building strong relationships with students they would not normally meet during the school day.”
Find out more about our STEM Clubs here - and join in the discussion here.