New STEM Centre at Royal Leamington Spa College: available to schools

A brand new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) centre has opened at Royal Leamington Spa College to inspire young people in a range of STEM related subjects.

The centre is funded by the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) and was officially opened by CWLEP board member and CEO of Leamington-based technology group The Emerald Group, Sarah Windrum.

Facilities within the centre include:

• Reaction Wall - to test student (and teacher) reaction times as part of investigations into fitness, health and sport
• Nao Robots - can be programmed to perform a number of tasks including dance routines and face recognition
• Infrared Spectrometer - used to analyse chemical evidence at crime scenes and the composition of various substances
• Virtual Reality Technology - software and goggles to explore virtual worlds
• Engineering technology including 3D printer, pneumatics trainer and self-assembly robots
• Dual Projection Facility - for large scale demonstrations of computer games and interactive screen based projects

The centre is designed to be used by pupils from local primary and secondary schools, as well as students at WCG.

Neil Coker, Group Vice Principal Curriculum, explains: ““We want to work with schools to provide activities that directly enrich and support their teaching for the benefit of all our local young people.  We want to hear from and work with schools to develop activities that have real impact and add value to pupils’ learning and engagement in STEM.”

For teachers and schools interested in using the STEM Centre, please email stem@warwickshire.ac.uk.