Building tomorrow's tech leaders today

OUR AIM

The Hg Foundation's flagship initiative connecting independent and state schools to transform opportunities in STEM

7

Independent school hubs

25+

State schools engaged

~1500

Students in core 

GCSE programme

1,500

Students on year 9 Bright
Sparks programme

STEM Horizons tackles a critical challenge in UK education: significant shortages of specialist STEM teachers in the state school system. This gap hits students from lower-income backgrounds hardest, limiting their future education and career opportunities.

Expert teachers are embedded within the STEM Horizons programme, opening doors to education and career opportunities that might otherwise remain closed. This programme thrives on collaboration, bringing together independent and state school educators, students, and The Hg Foundation, to unlock potential through shared expertise.

Through our pilot Computer Science programme, our mission is to transform Computer Science education by building strategic partnerships that share knowledge, expertise, and opportunity. Our focus is on broadening horizons for Year 8-11 students who may never have considered tech careers, particularly those from lower income backgrounds and girls. We work closely with schools where the need is greatest: most of our partner schools have higher than average Free School Meals (FSM) percentages and all our partner schools have higher than average levels of deprivation for their areas.

Through our hub-and-spoke model, comprehensive support system, and Bright Sparks initiative, we're driving three key outcomes:

  • Improved GCSE Computer Science grades for all participants, with special focus on girls and students from low-income backgrounds

  • Increased take-up of STEM subjects at A-level and degree level

  • Development of a scalable partnership model that can be expanded to other STEM subjects nationwide

Beyond raising attainment and increasing participation in Computer Science, STEM Horizons is designed to prepare young people for emerging technology pathways, including AI and digital careers. We want our students not only to succeed academically, but to feel excited by and equipped for the future possibilities that technology offers.

Close-up of the text 'The Ig Foundation' in black and white.

STEM Horizons is funded by The Hg Foundation who believe that achieving great STEM qualifications is a key route to social mobility, and to delivering its mission of a wider pipeline of talent into the technology sector. STEM Horizons is one of 40 partnerships the Foundation has funded to date, thanks to its backing from Hg, a leading transatlantic software investor.

Learn More

Our current programmes

Two students, a girl with curly hair and a girl with braided hair, wearing school uniforms, working together on a computer in a classroom.

  • Computer Science represents the perfect starting point for STEM Horizons - not just because of the critical teacher shortage, but because of the unique opportunities it creates for students who might never have imagined themselves in tech careers.

    The UK faces a significant gap in Computer Science education, with state schools particularly affected by teacher shortages in this rapidly evolving field. Only 54% of Computer Science lessons are taught by teachers with a Computer Science degree (compared to 85% for Mathematics and 72% for Physics). This disparity hits students from lower-income backgrounds hardest, creating barriers to future education and career opportunities in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy. For many young people, especially girls and those from disadvantaged communities, tech careers remain invisible or seem inaccessible - not because they lack ability, but because they lack opportunity.

    Computer Science provides the ideal testing ground for our hub-and-spoke partnership model. The lessons we learn, the relationships we build, and the evidence we gather will inform our expansion into other STEM subjects where similar challenges exist.

  • Year 9 represents a pivotal point in every student's educational journey. At age 13-14, young people are forming their academic identities and making choices that will shape their future pathways.

    Bright Sparks is STEM Horizons' specialist Year 9 engagement programme, designed to reach 1,500 students who might never have considered Computer Science or broader STEM careers. Running alongside our core GCSE support programme, Bright Sparks targets that crucial moment when students are deciding whether to take Computer Science at GCSE level.

Meet the Team

  • A middle-aged man standing outdoors by the ocean at sunset, wearing a light pink dress shirt and dark pants, with his hands in his pockets, smiling slightly.

    Ian Davenport

    Ian is currently consultant Programme Director at STEM Horizons. Prior to this position he had started several social mobility & education charities, including the SpringBoard Bursary Foundation, SpringForward and the School Partnerships Alliance.

  • A smiling man with glasses, wearing a dark sweater over a collared shirt, standing against a stone wall.

    John Smith

    John is the Programme Manager for STEM Horizons and the Director of Partnerships at Royal Grammar School (RGS).

    John has been teaching for 20 years, has previously been Head of Maths for 12 years and Head of Teaching for 4, before taking on the SLT role in Partnerships in 2021.

  • Portrait of a woman with blonde hair wearing a blue top, smiling against a plain gray background.

    Samantha McGonigle

    Partner & General Counsel at Hg and who sits on the STEM Horizons board.

  • Portrait of a young man with glasses wearing a dark gray blazer and white shirt, smiling slightly against a light gray background.

    James Turner

    James is the first CEO of The Hg Foundation and is a member of the STEM Horizons Advisory Board.

    James has been working in the philanthropy, education and social mobility sectors for 20 years.

  • A woman with dark hair and light skin, wearing a dark blazer, bright pink top, and large earrings, smiling outdoors with a blurred building in the background.

    Helen Pike

    Master (Head) of Magdalen College School, Oxford and is a member of the STEM Horizons Advisory Board.

  • A middle-aged man in a black suit, white shirt, and blue tie with red dots, standing inside a courtroom or historic building with wooden furnishings and brick walls, smiling and facing the camera.

    Geoffrey Stanford

    Headmaster of RGS Newcastle and is a member of the STEM Horizons Advisory Board.

  • A woman with shoulder-length dark brown hair and fair skin smiling, wearing a blue houndstooth-patterned jacket against a plain gray background.

    Sally Newton

    CEO, Laidlaw Schools Trust and is a member of the STEM Horizons Advisory Board.

Register your interest

Interested in becoming part of this initiative?
complete our form here