Business brings STEM to life for city school children
A major Gloucester-based business is thrilled by the success of its latest venture - a programme to encourage school children in its community to embrace and get excited by STEM subjects.
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Primary school children in Gloucester have been given a taste of careers in science, tech, engineering and maths thanks to a programme delivered by a leading local company.
Four women from specialist cold chain industry contractors The P & M Group have delivered the programme at Brockworth Primary Academy, to 30 pupils in years four to six.
Since 2021 P & M has worked with Stemazing, an award-winning social enterprise that empowers women working in STEM fields and inspires primary school children through visible role models and interactive learning.
Now the group, which supports the critical supply of food and pharmaceuticals in the cold chain, has launched its own programme to engage with the next generation of the sector’s local workforce.
The first partnership is with Brockworth Primary Academy, where the team have run fortnightly workshops for a targeted group of pupils, including children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The sessions will run for two months and will include dynamic activities such as building straw rocket blasters, demonstrating Newton’s laws of physics and engineering design principles.
Joanne Swift is group sustainability manager at P & M and was part of the very first Stemazing Academy cohort.
She is joined by the company’s finance assistant Wendy Taylor, health and safety administrator Keesha Clutterbuck and service & maintenance estimator Ellie Finch in delivering the workshops.
Swift said: “We want to maximise our impacts through an ongoing commitment to STEM engagement.
“The idea is to build partnerships with schools and inspire pupils to explore opportunities in STEM.
“We want to create a proven model that we can scale – both local to our head office and in the communities around the country where we operate.”
Looking ahead, there are already plans to open the opportunity to others across the business regardless of gender, and to expand the number of schools the group partners with.
With two more employees currently going through the Stemazing Academy, foundations are in place for a wider rollout.
In the future, the team also intends to design their own experiments that tie more closely to P & M’s core business and sustainability themes.
Swift added: “We are proud to be supporting not just primary education, but our own people’s development too.
“Stemazing’s Inspiration Academy gives women the confidence to put themselves out there and contribute more to their company’s progress and success, as well as to deliver the sessions to schools.
“This initiative is about long-term relationships, creating visibility, and encouraging children from all backgrounds to see a future for themselves in engineering and construction.
“Women still only account for 26 per cent of the global STEM workforce. If we are to overcome some of the world’s greatest challenges, we need to inspire changemakers from all genders, ethnicities and backgrounds.
“Stemazing is tackling the issue by inspiring more girls to become scientists and engineers with the help of female role models from across the industry.”
Nikki Hughes, personal development lead at Brockworth Primary Academy, said: “What a great initiative this has been. The pupils have really enjoyed themselves and we’re grateful to the members of P & M for volunteering their time for this fantastic programme.
“We’re delighted to have taken part and to help begin the next generation of STEM leaders.”
The Stemazing programme has already achieved impressive outcomes. More than 600 women have completed the Inspiration Academy, collectively delivering more than 160,000 engagements with children across the UK.
The programme has evolved since the early cohorts – now offering mentoring support to newcomers and encouraging long-term partnerships with businesses like The P & M Group.
Stemazing founder Alexandra Knight says, “What P & M is doing is music to my ears. It’s the dream scenario – to see a partner take what they’ve gained from the programme and make it their own.
“They are setting the standard for what meaningful, empowered outreach can look like – taking ownership, expanding impact, and tailoring the approach to their industry and values.
“It’s the very definition of the ripple effect, and I’m incredibly excited to see where it goes next.”
This press release was sent to Raikes in July 2025 from Turn The Tables PR.
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