About us
Broadening horizons for students
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 tech career opportunities.
We're creating a national network of strategic partnerships between independent and state schools initially focused on Computer Science - the subject where teaching shortages are most acute.
Our programme specifically targets Year 8-11 students (ages 13-16) who may not have considered tech careers before. For many of these young people, particularly girls and those from low-income backgrounds, tech pathways remain invisible or seem inaccessible. STEM Horizons is about broadening horizons—showing students the diverse and exciting career possibilities that Computer Science can unlock.
Our hub-and-spoke model
At the heart of our collaborative approach are five high-performing independent schools serving as knowledge hubs. Each hub works with five state schools, collaborating through sharing expertise, resources and joining forces to drive improved STEM outcomes. This creates powerful educational connections which will benefit over 1,150 GCSE students.
University College School (London), Royal Grammar School (Newcastle), Oundle School, Magdalen College School (Oxford) and Norwich School are all involved in delivering the pilot. RGS Newcastle serves as our Lead Hub School, coordinating operations across the network.
A comprehensive support system
Through the programme, we deliver approximately 100 hours of targeted support to each student through five integrated pillars:
Weely Hybrid Lessons
~40 sessions
Sixth Form Mentoring
~40 sessions
Academic Seminars
30-40 sessions
Maths Support
~5 sessions
Enrichment Activities
~6 sessions
Measuring our impact
With over £1m of funding from The Hg Foundation, we are not just delivering an education programme -- we are creating a scalable model with measurable outcomes.
The impact of the programme on GCSE results and increasing participation in STEM pathways will be measured by an independent evaluator, The National Foundation for Educational Research. You can read the Evaluation Study Plan here.
Building for the future
Running from 2025-2028, STEM Horizons aims to create a sustainable model in Computer Science that can expand to other STEM subjects.
Bright Sparks Initiative
Our Bright Sparks initiative reaches an additional 1,500 Year 8/9 students through engaging half-day events. This creates an early talent pipeline, particularly encouraging girls and students from low-income backgrounds to consider Computer Science as a GCSE option.
Register your interest
Interested in becoming part of this initiative?
Complete our form.