Jersey students say new programme is gateway to dream jobs
A new programme is helping pupils progress towards their dream jobs, say students in Jersey.Chlodie, 17, and Lucy, 15, from Hautlieu School have been on the STEM On Track programme which taught students to build a go-kart before they learnt to ride and race in it.They were selected from the course to go to the UK where they earned their racing licences.It is part of work to get more girls studying subjects like science, technology, engineering and maths which are traditionally dominated by male students.
Chlodie and Lucy are both fans of Formula 1 and the course involved them training with the Alpine FI Team in the UK.Chlodie said: "It's been really exciting because every week we've been able to see more and more, progress with our go-kart as it's been built and then going to the UK for the racing was really fun."So I'm a big fan of F1 and this is a really good gateway into that."Lucy added: "I think a lot more people are going to try to do it as my friends have seen me doing it and really enjoying it plus I'm a big Formula 1 fan so this is very exciting for me."The STEM On Track works with Alpine F1 Team to help train students and teach them about engineering and racing.
Hautlieu physics teacher Carl Bowen-Price, who worked to bring the project to the school, said "I was very focused on bringing exam success" but wanted "to focus on delivering opportunities Jersey students don't normally get".Mr Bowen-Price added: "I want to work closely with the government and I'm hoping to have some talks soon to get this spread across all schools."The school will be able to continue with the project for the next three years after it secured funding from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The school is also hoping to encourage more people from different backgrounds to study science at A-level with a new STEM project which sees students learn how to extract DNA from daffodils.The University of Dundee runs the program which schools across the British Isles take part in and the class is almost split evenly between boys and girls.Evie, 16, said "it's nice to see so many girls here" and "it's important to challenge those barriers and it's an exciting opportunity that all girls should go for".Johana, 17, added: "It's been one of the most interesting projects I've been a part of because finding ways to sequence DNA could change the world of medicine and help people with diseases..."
The project is being led by biology teacher Jon Hale who started the project at Beaulieu Convent School where he is the assistant head teacher.He said: "The University of Dundee saw potential in our work and have supported us so we can go bigger which is how we've now got schools in Jersey all the way to Orkney involved."Mr Hale added that "there are close to 30 schools across the UK working on this" and "it would be great to have every secondary school in Jersey have its own project like this".
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