Education | ED03 | Summer 2016

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Tunbridge Wells
going awry somewhere in the UK.
Obviously there is no intrinsic reason
why women can’t do the job as well as
men, albeit that they are not the same
and bring a different perspectives and
skill sets. There are lots of capable
girls whose skills and talents are not
being directed effectively, who would
respond positively to the challenges
and rigour of STEM subjects, given
half the chance. The workforce could
benefit from their contribution; we
undoubtedly –and urgently- need
more female engineers. Similarly
there may be boys who feel they are
being pressured into STEM subjects
when their talents lie in other areas.
What can we do to encourage girls to
choose STEM subjects? Encouraging
girls to engage with STEM subjects
needs to begin earlier than A Level
choices- right back to Primary school.
We have a high take up of Maths and
Science at A level because we expect
all girls to study all three sciences from
day one up to at GCSE. Many are not
confident about their own abilities at
the end of Year 9 but when they do
well at GCSE [Last year 90% of girls
achieved A*/A in Physics, Chemistry
and Biology], they have the confidence
and ability to continue at A Level and
beyond. Furthermore, wherever possible,
we encourage girls to keep their options
open and balance their A level choices.
Most girls will study at least one science
or Maths at A level, and similarly those
girls focusing predominantly on Sciences
often study an arts subject as well.
Do children need to choose between
arts and STEM subjects? I worry that
children are expected to ‘specialise’ far
too early in their school careers, and
indeed that they are encouraged to
categorise themselves as either an ‘artist’
or a ‘scientist’ with different skills. I
don’t think that is helpful. We need
to be encouraging children to look for
links between subjects and how skills
complement each other. After all, to
be a good scientist, you need to be
creative and to write accurately and
concisely. Any good piece of writing, or
art, needs to be crafted and structured
with discipline. What we need to
ensure is that children are able to think
independently and to make mistakes
and learn from them, in a variety of
subjects. My concern is that while
STEM, or indeed STEAM, is crucially
important part of education, we exclude
emphasis on creative, artistic subjects
at our peril. Advances in science need
to have a cultural and moral context,
so if we deprive our children of these
less utilitarian, but vitally important
subjects we are compromising their
perspective and our future.
Above: Antonia Beary, headteacher at Mayfield
One School,
many journeys
Sutton Valence
Preparatory School
(Nursery to age 11)
Come to visit, the door’s always open
• Traditional values, small class sizes
• Proven exam success for independent and state entry
• Minibus routes across Kent
Please contact:
T: 01622 842117 | E: leckiea@svs.org.uk
www.svs.org.uk
31 www.wealdentimes.co.uk
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