Routes into STEM was three days spread out over a few weeks where we went to different institutions and were taught about the courses and opportunities they offered primarily involving engineering.

We went to a college, a university and then a company. I want to highlight that this course doesn’t teach you STEM topics but shows you different paths you can take to a future and career in STEM such as apprenticeships.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and got to make friends with people from other schools as well as coming out of the experience well-informed of my options in pursuing a STEM future.

​This course would be good for people who want to know what other directions they can take into STEM education and employment instead of following the traditional six form and university route.

It turns out that the most impressive-sounding work experiences are not necessarily the most rewarding. Chisato, ex-big-six with a rather splendid scientific mind, immersed herself in real-world work this summer. She was immediately promoted to a maternity cover as she proved so much more impressive than the average intern. Hurray for the confidence and maturity that NLCS instils! Here is what she writes about her 8 weeks of hard graft in the real world of work. Sixthformers heed her words - Excel skills are useful!!!

"Through a personal contact through the Maths Department, I worked at the recruitment company Total Jobs Group, located in the snazzy Blue Fin Building in Southwark. I helped match account records on Salesforce (which is a Customer Relationship Platform) and enrich registration and contact details of companies so they could be passed on as leads to the sales team. I also helped fill in the trackers for managers to analyse their team’s performance and build a custom report on Salesforce. It was a great opportunity to practise some self-taught Excel skills and gain experience navigating through Salesforce. The working environment was very pleasant and I enjoyed having lunch with my friendly colleagues as well!"