Director of STEM Wins The David Clark Prize

We are celebrating the news that our Director of STEM, Anthony Vaughan-Evans, has been commended for his teaching and fantastic work in supporting opportunities for young people to get into engineering and STEM industries. 

Anthony Vaughan-Evans, Director of STEM, won The David Clark Prize for outstanding teaching in the field of engineering for Secondary Schools, recognised for his commitment and passion for his work and raising the profile of engineering to students and the local community. The included prize also means that East Point Academy is set to receive £12,000 for more exciting STEM projects and support of the curriculum in the coming years. 

Anthony said: 

“I am committed to delivering an excellent and exciting STEM agenda to the young people of Lowestoft and Waveney and importantly not just for the pupils at East Point Academy. The wealth of opportunities within the local area (often referred to as the energy coast) and the huge potential of our young people will provide the ideal opportunity to make the young people and its enterprise partners the regional pioneers in STEM education and provide the area with skilled young people equipped for the workplace. 

 

By engaging external support from a number of sources we have managed to create STEM experiences for young people that are stimulating, enlightening and contextual. The possibilities are endless with the future bringing a ‘Centre of Excellence for STEM’ to the Lowestoft and Waveney area.” 

The prize money will have an enormously positive impact on increasing the STEM opportunities for young people at East Point Academy and in the local area across many schools and developing a Centre of Excellence for STEM. 

We are excited to expand the “STEM in Action” model to incorporate more schools and engage more external support. This model is built on partnerships with local companies and working with STEM ambassadors to bring “real-life” curriculum topics into the classroom. The key to motivation and broadening pupils’ horizons is visiting the industrial setting, which can immeasurably change young people’s perspectives on their potential career paths. With this funding, the costs of transport, which has been a major obstacle in the past, can be addressed, enabling more pupils to visit locations further afield in this remote and rural setting. The school can also develop more inter-school STEM events and competitions. 

We also would like to develop a project to engage parents and highlight STEM opportunities, focusing on female role models, presentation skills, and communication skills. Funding will enable the provision of refreshments and activities for these events. 

Finally, we would like to provide training and resources for other STEM teachers in the area to enable greater uptake of these local STEM opportunities in the energy sector and the many different STEM activities available. This work involves encouraging and supporting teachers in areas needing more experience, confidence, and connections. The prize money can be used to develop tailored resources to be delivered at training sessions and to create a local STEM opportunity directory. 

Lucy Austin, Principal at East Point Academy said: 

“We are extremely proud of Anthony, as our Director of STEM he does a huge amount of work with our students and the community to raise the profile of engineering.  

 

Lowestoft, home to East Point Academy, has a growing engineering industry for which our students are the future employees. It's fantastic that Anthony's important work in this field is being recognised by such a prestigious award." 

Anthony was also joined by fellow Inspiration Trust colleague Kate Finlay at the awards. Kate was awarded the "Highly Commended" award for her work encouraging participation in Design and Technology and promoting careers in STEM industries. Kate works at Hethersett Academy, with a role leading Design and Technology as a Subject Specialist for Inspiration Trust.