High Achievers at Youth STEMM Awards

Sixteen CNS students, who between them have worked towards 1500 hours of Youth STEMM activities, collected their awards at a recent ceremony in Norwich.

The award ceremony at the Forum in Norwich, was held to recognise young people who have completed their Youth STEMM Award and was attended by Astronomer Mark Thompson and wildlife biologist and presenter Lizzie Daly.

The Youth STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine) Award provides a focused and engaging framework for young people aged 13 – 18 to support and inspire the next generation of STEMM professionals. It is an achievement based award in which students log STEMM related activities to work towards a Bronze, Silver or Gold level award.

The Youth STEMM Award was launched in 2015 across 22 state schools in Norfolk. It was originally for female participants only but in September 2016 it was expanded to include male participants and independent candidates.

Awards are given to students aged 13 to 18 who complete STEMM related activities with the aim of encouraging the next generation of scientists, doctors and engineers.

City of Norwich School achieved the highest number of awards overall and were the only school to collect awards in all three categories with 9 Gold, 2 Silver and 5 Bronze.

Ms Nichols, Assistant Headteacher and Director of Achievement said:

“This group of students have worked incredibly hard to achieve their awards this year and it is especially pleasing to see many of the original cohort from 3 years ago go all the way through to achieve their Gold awards which requires a minimum of 150 hours of STEMM based activities.

“All students that compete the Youth STEMM Award contribute a huge amount to the school, through tutoring, leading of events, presenting at the Norwich Science Festival, sharing their ideas and passions for STEMM and compiling magazines just to name a few.

"The award encourages these students to look at pathways in ways in which they may not have considered before and this helps encourages our students into careers best suited to them in fields that are diverse and dynamic. It has been a real pleasure leading them through this year. 

"If new students would like to take part in the Youth STEMM Award, please see Ms Spinks for a letter."

From left to right: Anne, Tajmin and Tiegan