As part of their 20th birthday celebrations, STEM Learning has recognised the fantastic contribution made by founding director Professor Sir John Holman by naming the practical section of their state-of-the-art facilities the Sir John Holman Laboratories.
The National STEM Learning Centre in York opened its doors in 2005 and has delivered tens of thousands of hours of high impact CPD to teachers and technicians – greatly improving the quality of teaching and skills in STEM subjects.
One of the key features of the Centre are the laboratories, which offer first-class facilities for teachers and technicians to improve their confidence in teaching practical science, health and safety and much more. Practical science has always been close to Sir John’s heart – as he once said: “Studying science without experiments is like studying literature without books.”
He visited the centre this month with family to meet colleagues and take a look at the laboratories which now bear his name.
Sir John has had a remarkable career, starting out as a teacher of science and chemistry at all levels before becoming Emeritus Professor at the University of York and a government adviser on STEM and careers education.
He was a significant influence on education policy and a strong advocate for practical science to nurture pupils’ curiosity by bringing theory to life, teaching them to ask questions and understand natural phenomena.
He was a constant champion of the importance of good career guidance in schools and colleges – especially for young people from under-served communities – and this led to him creating the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance. These remain a hugely effective framework today, and have benefitted millions of young people through improved career provision.
David Thorpe, Deputy Chief Executive at STEM Learning, said: “I am so pleased that we have been able to celebrate Sir John’s impact on the teaching and learning of science by naming our laboratories in his honour. He was the driving force behind the establishment of the National STEM Learning Centre, and his legacy has ensured that generations of hundreds of thousands of young people have successfully studied science and gone on to pursue a STEM career.
“We know that we’ve reached every UK school, and science teachers are now more confident in their subject knowledge. Also, many tens of thousands of teachers – who would otherwise have left the profession they love – have been retained as a result.”
The Gatsby Charitable Foundation have been a significant supporter and funder of STEM Learning during the last 20 years. They funded the creation of the National STEM Centre’s digital resources as well as an extension to the building. They have been huge advocates for STEM education and excellent teaching and learning. They continue to work with STEM Learning through ‘STEM Clubs Technicians: we make the difference’ pilot programme. It was with Gatsby that Sir John worked with to define good career guidance and develop the Gatsby Benchmarks.
Nigel Thomas, Executive Director for Education at Gatsby said: “I can’t think of a more fitting way to mark Sir John’s contribution to science education than naming the teaching laboratories at the National STEM Learning Centre in his honour.
“In a career spanning half a century, the impact of his contributions to education and career guidance for teachers, technicians – and critically – young people, cannot be overstated. We are delighted that even in his retirement, Sir John’s name remains synonymous with high quality teaching and skills in STEM.”
As part of STEM Learning’s anniversary celebrations, the #STEMgiving20 campaign has been launched to enable organisations, individuals and educators to donate, volunteer and engage – find out more.
