Cambridge Academy of Science and Technology challenges for award

Industrial Cadets is an accreditation for young peoples’ experiences of industry in science, technology, engineering and maths. The idea for the Industrial Cadet accreditation was originally seeded in a conversation about providing effective experiences of work and industry between HRH The Prince of Wales and executives of the Tata Group in 2010. Since that time His Royal Highness has taken a keen interest in the establishment of Industrial Cadets as a national accreditation and its recent rapid expansion.

Cambridge Academy of Science and Technology is a 14-19 specialist STEM college which as a University Technical College (UTC) utilises project-based learning for students at least one day per week to give them practical skills alongside academic achievement. These extended projects are designed and delivered in collaboration with local employers.

The college has incorporated Industrial Cadet Awards into both its GCSE and Sixth Form curricula as it believes that the aims of the award reflects those of the college. Over the past three years the college has extended the certification of projects that carry the Industrial Cadet Award so that this year all Year 10 students will complete Silver level awards and all year 12 will complete Gold Level Awards. Projects certified for Industrial Cadet awards include Computer Science, Civil Engineering, Biological Sciences, and Engineering. Both the Awards are fully integrated into the College curriculum.

The outcomes from one of the projects requires students to run an activity day for primary school students.  This will be delivered by year 12 Industrial Cadets to around 60 students in conjunction with Cambridge Launchpad.  Cambridge Launchpad is a movement of local STEM companies aiming to inspire children to enter STEM careers.  The college is part of Launchpad's advisory group through which it promotes its Industrial Cadet program, raising its profile and inspiring others to engage.

Dr Alistair Easterfield, Assistant Head Teacher at Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology said, “The need for practical and employability skills alongside academic performance in producing successful STEM graduates is integral to our college ethos. We have found the Industrial Cadets framework helpful in allowing us to reflect on our current practice and address skills gaps.  The award has also been extremely helpful in providing external validation of the students learning and provided them with a real sense of achievement in completing projects well.

All students at the college spend a day a week working on extended STEM based projects as part of their core curriculum.  Projects are all designed and delivered in partnership with industry and academia, with students learning the skills they need to excel in today’s STEM workforce.  The Industrial Cadets Award is an integral part of this.  We have established this innovative curriculum in only 3 years and are now working with over 40 businesses and our curriculum is recognised nationally.

We have used the Industrial Cadets Award as evidence in our recent Ofsted inspection (“preparation for the world of work is exceptional”; “students develop an in-depth knowledge of their skills”) and in our successful application for the Careers Mark, for which we achieved the highest possible grading.”

Julie Feest, Chief Executive of EDT, the charity that manages the Industrial Cadet Accreditation says, “The pressure on schools for academic achievement is enormous but it is the mark of an excellent school when, like Cambridge Academy, they take special care to give young people experiences of working in industry, so they can discover for themselves the careers on offer and see if the work is likely to inspire them into those careers. Industrial Cadets is a way of measuring the usefulness of workplace experience and of providing the young people involved with a nationally recognised award at the end of the placement. The way that Cambridge Academy has utilised Industrial Cadets as an integral part of preparing their students for their future careers can serve as a model of other educational establishments.

"Cambridge Academy is excellent in its provision for young people in this way and it is right that they get recognition for that by being shortlisted for this award.”