Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Oral Answers to Questions

Antoinette Sandbach Excerpts
Monday 17th December 2018

(5 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Luke Graham Portrait Luke Graham (Ochil and South Perthshire) (Con)
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5. What steps his Department is taking to increase the take-up of STEM subjects.

Antoinette Sandbach Portrait Antoinette Sandbach (Eddisbury) (Con)
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21. What steps his Department is taking to increase the take-up of STEM subjects.

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Anne Milton Portrait Anne Milton
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Well done to Crieff High School, the NCS, DFID and the Royal Navy. There is no doubt that weaving education into life jobs and everything we do with young people is how we get results. I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend any time.

Antoinette Sandbach Portrait Antoinette Sandbach
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When I visit STEM businesses in my constituency, I often ask how many of their apprentices are women. They say that there are not enough coming through the pipeline, the same excuse for why they do not have female directors. What is the Minister doing to increase the take-up by women and girls of STEM subjects?

Anne Milton Portrait Anne Milton
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My hon. Friend is right that, without doubt, gender stereotypes affect what young girls do. Those stereotypes are changing because we are making sure that we change them. For instance, since 2010 we have seen 26% more women entering STEM A-levels. However, we recognise that the take-up for physics is notably low and we have put money into the Stimulating Physics Network. I praise hon. Members who have taken part in the Year of Engineering. We know that at primary school girls and boys have similar levels of interest in STEM subjects, but that that tails off quite substantially at secondary school. We are doing research to understand that better.[Official Report, 20 December 2018, Vol. 651, c. 5MC.]