Reach the Heights

Techniquest is a joint sponsor in the Welsh Governments Reach the Heights initiative, a £49 million programme with £27 million from the European Social Fund. Reach the Heights is aimed at reducing the number of young people aged 11-19 years across the Convergence Areas of Wales who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or who are at risk of being so.

All programmes are offered free of charge to schools enrolled in the project. All of Techniquest's participants take part in three sessions during the life of the project.

Techniquest's remit for the project is to:

1. provide STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) outreach programmes, mainly to young people who are at risk of becoming NEET in order to encourage them to continue in education and training with a view to working in a STEM-based field.
2. work to redress the relatively low take up by female pupils of STEM subjects, which leads to occupational segregation.
3. work with non-STEM specialists from any set at Key Stage 5 to encourage students to choose a university course or train for a career with a minor STEM component.

Techniquest's Reach the Heights programmes have been developed specifically for the project. This development work has been funded partly by the ESF through WEFO and partly by a range of third party match funders. Our aim with the workshops is to excite in participants an interest in STEM subjects and STEM based careers - and to motivate these young people to want to find out more. The project also builds skills in financial literacy, numeracy and literacy through activities with a strong emphasis on team working and problem solving ­- and an orientation to the world of work.

Key Stage 3 programmes, Backstage Maths, Earthspace, Streets Ahead, Fair Trading and Making Tracks, offer diverse options for engaging pupils in using STEM skills in an enjoyable context.

Key Stage 4 programmes introduce an element of work related experience into the classroom. Through the programmes Aftershock and Eye in the Sky and careers related sessions with representatives from STEM companies and organisations - students learn something of the wide range of careers that involve STEM skills and how important STEM skills are in daily life. The aim is to interest students in STEM careers they might not otherwise have known of or considered.

The Contemporary Science Debates, Digital Identity Crisis, Well Being, Size of Wales and ADHD, offer non-STEM specialists at Key Stage 5 a chance to think about how STEM based issues relate to daily life. The aim is to make STEM issues more accessible to non-STEM students.

The constituent parts of the project have been designed to link together to offer holistic support for students from year 7 onwards and to make a measurable impact over the course of the three sessions.