“Funded by the Department for Education, the iBelong programme is all about
encouraging girls into computer science; Computer science is the fastest-growing STEM subject, and yet, despite its popularity, girls are consistently outnumbered by boys. The programme aims to help teachers and leaders understand the barriers to girls’ participation in computer science and make a plan to overcome them.
At Weobley we are working hard to break down these barriers and supporting more girls to pursue computer science careers and education pathways. Over the last year we have re-developed our Key Stage 3 curriculum to improve learning experiences that help to create positive associations with the subject, building girls’ confidence and self-efficacy – particularly those with less prior experience of the subject and associated practical skills. We are also one of few schools to offer a girls-only E-Sports club (Wednesday lunchtimes), which is proving popular – this is open to any girl from Year 7-11. On December 17th 2024, we participated in our first iBelong online seminar where our Year 9 girls listened to some successful women working in STEM and got an opportunity to ask questions about their careers.
We are very proud to have achieved the iBelong certification at Weobley High School but this is only the beginning; we have lots of exciting opportunities for girls coming up in the new year, including guest speakers (such as ex-students and other local females who have found success in computer science), a Girls-Only Coding Code Club and more iBelong Online Seminars, all with the aim of promoting computer science for ALL students, and helping our girls understand the amazing opportunities that are available to them in the world of computer science .”
