The Future Brunels Programme
The Future Brunels programme aims to inspire and enthuse young people with science and engineering throughout their time at secondary school.
By introducing young people to the impacts science and engineering have already on their own and other’s lives, and to the range of career options available to them through studying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, the programme encourages the Future Brunels to consider careers in the broadest set of STEM fields.
School Partners
Working with our partner Future Brunels schools, Cotham School, Fairfield High School, Merchants’ Academy, Redland Green School, Broadlands Academy, City Academy Bristol, John Cabot Academy and St Katherine’s School, and supported by members of the Brunel Institute Corporate Academy, the Trust selects a cohort of 12 children in each academic year to join the Future Brunels programme.
Each cohort spends five years on the programme – from Year 7 to Year 11 – taking part in a series of exclusive out of school activity days designed to sustain interest and enthusiasm in STEM subjects and to give the Future Brunels an understanding of the options open to them by continuing these subjects through further education and beyond.
Inspiring Experiences
The programme is organised around five themes, taking inspiration from the multi-disciplinary talents of I.K. Brunel:
- The Scientist – exploring the world around us
- The Polymath – making connections between the arts and sciences
- The Magician – technological advancements and seeing behind the scenes of STEM
- The Engineer – shaping the world and pushing boundaries
- The Human-being – the impact of science and engineering on our lives and our world today
Instead of delivering curriculum content, the programme concentrates on providing a rich and varied programme of STEM-related experiences; all these activities support school science and provide a real world context to what the Future Brunels may learn in school.
From looking at the engineering and science behind rollercoasters during a visit to Thorpe Park, and discovering how advances in technology shape creative industries at Aardman Animations, to exploring the chemistry of traditional dark-room photographic techniques, visiting university research laboratories, and seeing behind the scenes at a sewage treatment works, the programme widens the Future Brunels’ views of STEM beyond school.
The opportunity to meet people who work in such varied fields and come from a range of backgrounds, and who all use science and engineering in their jobs, also provides STEM role models for the Future Brunels.
Throughout the programme the Future Brunels become part of the ss Great Britain staff and volunteer community, build their confidence in STEM, and get to know young people from other schools who they might not otherwise meet. The programme’s innovative combined approach gives the programme the power to shift perceptions and aspirations, and show STEM, and related professions, as relevant, innovative, creative, desirable, and achievable.
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