We interview Mr Luke Budden about his exciting new role in Solefield School as Director of STEM.
1. Describe what your new role will entail?
My new role as Director of STEM (Science, Technology & Maths) will entail introducing STEM to both the school’s curricular and extra-curricular program. I will be looking at ways of incorporating the skills required in the subjects in a cross-curricular manner and looking at the possibility of having some specific STEM projects or tasks embedded within the curriculum too. I would like to set up a number of clubs for the boys, introduce a STEM week and provide an option for the older boys in their Scholarship Pathway.
2. How do you see this new position will benefit Solefield and the boys?
I think it is an exciting and interesting role that can bring new activities and experiences to the boys. The purpose of STEM at Solefield will be to help the boys to develop their skills of critical thinking, collaboration and communication – all key skills for life and the work place. It will also enable us to tap into the boys’ interests of construction, building and creation, and helping the boys to visualise a clear pathway from what we do in school to how these skills could be used in a future career.
3. When does your new role start?
My new role takes effect in September, although we have plans to get certain STEM aspects up and running for then, so I will need to dedicate some time before then to ensure we are ready!
4. What will your first week look like?
The first week will involve a lot of communicating what STEM is, why it is important and how it will ‘look’ at school. This will need to be done to the boys as it will be something new to them, and it will also need to be done for the parents, to give them an insight into what we will be doing and why we see STEM as an essential part of the boys’ education.
5. Can you tell us a little bit about your background and specific areas of interest regarding this new role?
I have always been interested by all aspects contained within STEM. I was a keen scientist and mathematician at school, studying Physics and Maths in particular. This lead to me reading Electrical and Electronic Engineering at University, before I did my PGCE in which I specialised in Computing. My passion for STEM subjects continued into my teaching profession where I have been Head of Science and Head of Maths at a number of previous schools before joining Solefield as Head of Maths. I have always tried to share my passion for these subjects with the students and looked to develop the subject within the school.
6. What were your initial feelings when you were given the new role?
Excitement! As soon as I heard the job had been created I was interested. Solefield has so much potential to make STEM a great success and to be the person tasked with making that happen is both flattering and exciting. I have a great number of ideas on how we can develop STEM at school, making it a dynamic and motivating subject for the boys, hopefully inspiring many of them to study these subjects as they get older and take up careers in the industry too.
