Samuel Whitbread Academy was proud to host our annual Year 9 Girls Computing STEM Workshop, welcoming 50 students for an exciting morning dedicated to coding, collaboration and creativity.

We were delighted to be joined by students from King James Academy Royston, Freman College, Robert Bloomfield Academy, Shefford and The Priory School, Hitchin, alongside our own Year 9 students. The workshop was delivered with the support of STEMPOINT and a team of fantastic STEM Ambassadors from the industry, who brought real-world insight and enthusiasm to the day.

Students worked in teams to tackle two engaging challenges. In The Tale of Miss Smart & the Diamond Thief, they programmed sensors and alarms to protect a valuable diamond, applying coding skills in a practical and imaginative way. They also took part in Save the School from Hackers, a fast-paced computational thinking challenge that required logic, resilience and teamwork to crack the code and prevent a cyberattack.

The morning was filled with problem-solving, creativity and confident discussion, with students demonstrating impressive determination and collaboration throughout. Events like this are an important part of encouraging more young women to explore opportunities in computing and STEM fields, helping them to see the exciting pathways available to them in the future.

We are extremely grateful to STEMPOINT and the STEM Ambassadors for their time and expertise, and to our visiting schools for joining us in making the event such a success.