BETTERTIMES

Bohunt Education Trust Termly Events Review

Last October, students from three BET schools attended the annual Maritime Roadshow for Girls, run by the 1851 Trust at the home of Britain’s America’s Cup Team, Team INEOS, in Old Portsmouth. Of the 180 girls, half were from BET (Priory School, TPS and Bohunt School in Liphook).

Students took part in a rotation of inspiring activities, such as growth mind-set workshops, which demonstrated the power of positive thinking. Networking was also a strong feature of the event, with several ambassadors from local businesses talking to students about leadership skills and how to improve their strengths. It was also a superb opportunity for girls to talk to women who work in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) careers and discover how they forged their career paths.

In the afternoon, students moved down to the Tech Deck to try hands-on exhibits, such as writing code to steer boats and making sails to test in the wind tunnel. They also tried temporary challenges provided by the Royal Navy STEM ambassadors such as coding the spherical rolling robots to land on aircraft carriers, and identifying how STEM skills are used in the armed forces across a variety of jobs.

The trip was an overwhelming success. An increasing number of women are pursuing careers in STEM industries and opportunities such as the Maritime Roadshow for Girls help to break down misconceptions that girls may have about the sector. Student comments included: “I’ve learned my only limitation is myself,” and “I really enjoyed the day – it showed me there are so many career choices within STEM.”

We look forward to taking more brilliant BET girls to the next roadshow in March.