On Monday, 16th June, a group of our Year 5 and Year 6 girls took part in a special STEM Talk designed to inspire and encourage greater participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

The session began with an inspiring look at pioneering women in STEM, including Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, Mary Jackson, Li Feifei, Valentina Tereshkova, and Joan Clarke, a STEM hero who worked alongside Alan Turing at Bletchley Park.

This introduction set the tone for an inspiring session filled with curiosity, ambition, and empowerment.

The highlight of the morning was a thought-provoking talk delivered by Dr Joaquín Carrasco, Reader in Control Systems at the University of Manchester.

Dr Carrasco explored how STEM is shaping the world around us, and how today’s students can be part of building the technology of the future.

The girls were fascinated by real-life examples of robotics in action and had the opportunity to see some small robots up close during the session.

They participated actively throughout the talk, asking genuine questions and offering thoughtful comments on topics such as self-driving cars, the use of technology in medicine, and how bio-inspired robots could help humans, showing great curiosity and engagement with the themes presented.

The event sparked excitement and a real sense of possibility among the students.

It forms part of The Premier Academy’s ongoing commitment to promoting equality of opportunity in STEM education and inspiring all learners to see themselves as future innovators, problem-solvers, and changemakers.