Pupils at a Harrogate school are continuing to buck the international trend when it comes to girls participating and succeeding in science and maths.
Ashville College has marked British Science Week with a timetable of events, competitions and a series of special guest speakers.
These include topics such as Climate and Sustainability, Health Economics and the Development of Medicines, Engineering and Veterinary Sciences.
A new international study, published by the Department for Education, revealed how the maths/science “gender gap” between boys and girls in Years 5 to 9 was significantly larger than in previous years.
However, while Schools Minister Catherine McKinnell announced more would be done to promote the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths among young girls, Ashville is already breaking down such barriers.
Recent numbers show how girls are not only showing great interest in the subjects, they are also excelling at them with many going on to forge career paths in the science sector.
In total, 60% of Ashville girls who took Higher GCSE Physics in 2024 achieved grades 8-9, while there are more girls than boys in the Lower Sixth Science A Level cohort – the most popular subject area in Sixth Form for girls.
Global success stories include current Year 13 pupil Eleanor Grattoni-May completing work experience and ongoing lab research at the world-acclaimed Harvard University laboratory in Boston and Devan Martin showing exceptional ability in both maths and science by scoring in the top 3% for her SAT exam – sat by 1.3 million students worldwide.
Former pupils have also gone on to develop their skills with further education courses being taken in midwifery, biological archaeology, biomedical science, human nutrition and medicine. Amongst this year’s leavers, one of Ashville’s Heads of School, Tara Lane, has gained an offer from the University of Durham to study Biology.
Ashville Director of Science, Rebecca Bowen, explained how as well as introducing key guest speakers, events included a Science Fair, competitions and special activities in Engineering Club, Dissection Club and Medics Club.
They used British Science Week to press home the value of STEM subjects for both girls and boys.
She said:
“There is no doubt that Ashville is bucking the national trend when it comes to girls and their interest in science and the STEM subjects in general.
“We have witnessed some excellent results in this area. We are proactively promoting science to all pupils.
“We do a large amount of practical work in lessons, which is not the case in all schools, and have a vast co-curricular offering across the STEM subjects.
“British Science Week gave us further opportunity to express the importance of this subject and it was wonderful to see pupils examine such subjects as ‘how humans could adapt to living in space’ and ‘how marine life is adapting to climate change.
“Science is all around us, it is a part of our everyday lives and most importantly – as Ashville is proving – it is a subject where gender should play no part in whether you take part or succeed.”
Among the guest speakers to attend Ashville last week were Professor Ian Brown who discussed climate change and Dr Rachel Livermore, an expert on biochemistry.
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