STEM Horizons: The First Six Months

Written By Hg

It’s been a few months since we officially launched STEM Horizons, backed by £1.2m of funding from The Hg Foundation, and we wanted to share with you some exciting updates. Since September, our Bright Sparks sessions have already engaged 600 students across ten schools. This half-term, we have officially launched our core Computer Science GCSE curriculum with weekly school visits and online classes reaching around 500 students every week across 25 partner schools.

Five hubs. Twenty-five schools.

Five independent school hubs are now partnering with 25 state schools, each led by expert teachers specially selected for the programme. They're not just delivering content – they're adapting it in real time, responding to findings from, for instance, the Department for Education's curriculum review and research from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) on the evolving pathways into technology jobs.

The curriculum itself has been designed by our expert teachers under the guidance of our Programme Manager, John Smith.

Building momentum

Since launch we have also created an Associate Membership to widen participation and bring more schools into the fold. Wider partnerships have also been developing fast. micro:bit, sponsored by Nominet, have already provided 750 devices to power interactive STEM sessions . Other impactful partnerships are continuously developing.

Our brand and website (built with support from Hg's Marketing Team) are live, making it easier for schools, students, and supporters to engage with what we're doing.

Measuring what matters

The NFER will conduct an independent evaluation, comparing the GCSE outcomes of three STEM Horizons cohorts against a control group. We're tracking impact rigorously, comprehensive monitoring, information management, and data protection systems are embedded throughout to support programme delivery.

Strong foundations

A Steering Committee featuring leaders from independent and state schools, plus Hg's General Counsel, has already met five times to ensure we stay on track. Governance matters when you're building something designed to last.

We’re still at an early stage, but the foundations are strong and the momentum is building. There is much more to come over the year ahead, and we look forward to sharing further progress as STEM Horizons continues to develop and create lasting impact.

Our pioneering schools

We're delighted to be piloting STEM Horizons with the following schools:

Northeast England

  • ⭐ RGS Newcastle (Lead Hub)

  • Academy 360

  • Bede Academy

  • Southmoor Academy

  • St. Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College

  • The Blyth Academy

East Anglia

  • ⭐ Norwich School (Lead Hub)

  • Acle Academy Norwich

  • City Academy Norwich

  • Flegg High Ormiston Academy

  • Ormiston Venture Academy

  • Ormiston Victory Academy

East Midlands

  • ⭐ Oundle School (Lead Hub)

  • Corby Technical School

  • Kettering Buccleuch Academy

  • Kettering Science Academy

  • Lodge Park Academy

  • Queen Katharine Academy

South East

  • ⭐ MCS Oxford (Lead Hub)

  • Aureus School

  • Larkmead School

  • Oxford Spires Academy

  • The Oxford Academy

  • The Swan School

London

  • ⭐ UCS Hampstead (Lead Hub)

  • Hampstead School

  • Harris Lowe Academy Willesden

  • Heartlands High School

  • Parmiters School

  • UCL Academy

‍ ‍

Hg
Next

New STEM Horizons programme launches to tackle critical shortage of specialist STEM teachers and transform tech career opportunities.