Clare has joined forces with the Cavendish Laboratory, Isaac Physics, and twelve Colleges in launching the STEM SMART pilot programme, tackling educational disadvantage and COVID disruption.

Clare will provide additional learning, encouragement and mentoring for state school A-level students as part of an innovative widening participation initiative beginning in January 2022.

The 17-month STEM SMART programme will support students’ classroom studies in maths and science throughout their final year-and-a-half at school - from the second term of Year 12 to their Year 13 A-level examinations. It is being launched today to help bridge attainment gaps, mitigate educational disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and address the UK’s skills shortage in STEM subjects.

The programme also aims to build confidence in talented students who have experienced educational and social disadvantage, and motivate them to apply to study Engineering or physical sciences (such as Physics, Chemistry, and Materials Science) at top universities, including Cambridge. It is expected that many joining the programme will be at schools with little or no experience of sending students to Cambridge, so those who actively take part will be invited to attend a 4-day residential in Cambridge, when they will stay at a College, experience life as a Cambridge student, and consider whether to apply. 

More information about the programme can be found on the University's STEMSMART webpages. Registration for the 2023-24 programme has now opened.