Now in its fourth year, we were delighted to welcome around 70 young women to our Women in STEM (WIS) applicant event on 27 November.

Female applicants hoping to study Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) subjects at Reigate College next September heard from a speaker panel that included Nicky Robinson, Head of Physics and Engineering at Reigate College; Holly Tovey, Principal Statistician at the Institute of Cancer Research; and past student Som E-Agwuegbo, who balances work on a tech start-up she co-founded in her third year of university with a full-time Software Engineering job at JP MorganChase.

Simon King, Head of Maths and coordinator of the College’s Women in STEM Society said, “I went to an all-boys’ school, so it was only when I got to university that I saw the disparity in the numbers of men and women studying Maths. While things have certainly improved, women are still under-represented in the STEM workforce, particularly in the fields of engineering and computing.

“When I started teaching, I was keen to play my part in redressing that balance. Our WIS programme exists to show how studying these subjects at A Level really does open the door to a host of diverse opportunities in these growing sectors.”

Thanks must also go to our brilliant student helpers Abigail, Hallie, Isabella, Liesel, Matilda and Trixie, who all gave up their time to talk about their subject choices and experiences as part of the College’s WIS Society.