Inspire your students to pursue a career in STEM
Our STEM team can support your school to inspire the next generation of STEM professionals through:
- Real-world expert knowledge from STEM experts
- Teaching support in delivering STEM content
- Meaningful encounters that make a difference
That’s why our school events across Leicester and Leicestershire feature business representatives from our database of local businesses, which cover a broad spectrum of sectors.
Here’s what our young participants have said about their LEBC STEM experiences during their summer holidays…
“The activities were amazing! I also thought we learnt loads. Oundle Library is the best!” (Things That Fizz participant, age 9).
“5 stars, excellent session – great topic, great presentation, appropriate for audience, brilliant ‘hands on’ for age. Venue excellent too.” (Things That Fizz Parent/Guardian of participant).
“My child really enjoyed the activities. Science is a tricky subject to cover at home and group learning during the Summer Holidays is very welcome.” (Things That Fizz Parent/Guardian of participant).
“Really engaged my 10 year old son. Lovely introduction with literacy elements – names and places of bones in skeleton.” (Robotic Hands Parent/Guardian of participant).
“Another excellent STEM activity with Jo – really good fun and the children learnt a lot.” (Robotic Hands Parent/Guardian of participant).
We currently have 5 STEM enrichment opportunities for your school:
- STEM Ambassadors and Space Ambassadors – for all year groups
- Summer STEM Research Placements and Experiences – for Year 12’s
- Young Coders Competition – for school Years 3 to 8 (7-13 years old)
- AeroDiscover Aviation Careers Project – for all ages
- IET Faraday® Challenge Days – for Year 8 (12-13 years old)
- STEM Ambassadors and Space Ambassadors
As the home of STEM Ambassadors in the East Midlands, we have over 650 STEM professionals on call, to help inspire your students about careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
STEM Ambassadors can:
- share their knowledge and expertise from real world STEM experts to enhance your curriculum
- provide support for teachers in delivering STEM content that they would like industry input on
- engage with your students and inspire them to consider STEM careers and industries
We have over 50 STEM Ambassadors who work, or have a keen interest, in the Space industry. They are available just like all STEM Ambassadors to give talks, judge competitions, or even run Q&As with your classes.
Not only does our STEM Ambassador programme help you achieve and evidence the Gatsby Benchmarks, but all our Ambassadors are available to invite in to your school completely free of charge.
Teachers and school staff can request STEM and Space Ambassadors to support events you already have taking place in school by simply creating an account for free with STEM Learning: https://www.stem.org.uk/user/register
- Summer STEM Research Placements and Experiences
STEM research placements provide engaging, real-life workplace experiences for talented Year 12 (or equivalent) students. These placements allow students to immerse themselves in a STEM host organisation, offering a fantastic opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge they’ve gained in school while making meaningful contributions to the work of researchers and industry professionals.
Funded by the Nuffield Foundation and supported by STEM Learning, students can participate in either:
- Research Placements (up to 2 weeks) or
- Experiences (5 days)
Placements and Experiences happen during the summer holidays at no cost, provided the student meets the eligibility criteria listed on this website: https://www.stem.org.uk/research-placements/students.
Both options offer rewarding experiences for enthusiastic and curious young people. By taking part in these placements, students gain insights into various career paths and gather unique examples to showcase during their higher education and job applications.
Previously managed by LEBC, this opportunity is now managed centrally by STEM Learning.
To learn more, please visit: https://www.stem.org.uk/placements or email us at ambassadors@leics-ebc.org.uk.
- Young Coders Competition
The Young Coders Competition offers a fantastic opportunity for young people to gain hands-on experience in coding with Scratch. Each year, the competition invites participants to create a game using the Scratch platform based on a chosen theme.
The Young Coders competition is open to children aged 8 to 13 years old, specifically in years 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (P5, P6, P7, and S1 in Scotland, Y5, Y6, Y7, and Y8 in Northern Ireland). Entrants can compete individually or in teams of 2 to 6 children to develop their games.
The competition has been assessed as meeting required standards of British Science Association CREST Awards, and is an ideal way for your students to submit their work for a CREST award too.
You can register your school and access the lesson resources here: Young Coders Competition (codingcompetition.org).
The competition is FREE including resources that can be used as part of the Computing curriculum in your school, or extracurricular club.
Parent/guardians are also welcome to run the competition with their child/children at home.
The submission deadline for the competition is in May, and winners will be announced in June each year. Please check out the website for specific dates.
- AeroDiscover Aviation Careers Project
AeroDiscover is a dynamic educational initiative designed to ignite curiosity and open pathways into the Aviation industry.
Supported by the Reach for the Skies Challenge Fund (2023-2024) from the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport, the programme has already engaged over 1,200 students across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, offering hands-on experiences, Aviation Adventure and Industry Insight Days.
Now expanding across the East Midlands, AeroDiscover provides a range of exciting opportunities, including more Aviation Adventure Days, Aerospace Exploration Labs, and specialist STEM resources for students from KS1 through to KS4.
Careers guidance is a key focus, with tailored Aviation sector resources and dedicated outreach at careers fairs. The Mentor Aviators Programme will connect students with industry professionals, providing valuable insight into future career paths.
AeroDiscover is committed to inclusivity and partnering with organisations such as the British Model Flying Association and Go Gliding to ensure accessibility and impact.
Find out more and book an event at www.aerodiscover.org.uk.
- IET Faraday® Challenge Days
A free annual STEM competition activity day with a real-world challenge for pupils aged 12 – 13 years.
The IET Faraday® Challenge is an annual competition of STEM activities, which are designed to be cross curricular and cover hands on activities spanning science, technology, engineering and maths.
Each challenge day provides six teams of six students, aged 12 to 13 years (England and Wales Year 8, Scotland S1/S2, Northern Ireland Year 9), with the opportunity to research, design and make prototype solutions to real-world engineering problems.
Here at LEBC we are the East Midlands regional delivery partner.
If you would like to learn more please visit the IET Faraday Challenge Page: https://education.theiet.org/iet-faraday-challenge .
If your school would like to take part please email us at: ambassadors@leics-ebc.org.uk
For more information
For more information on any of the above STEM enrichment opportunities please call the STEM team at LEBC or email Jo, our STEM Manager
