The Anniegrams STEM holiday club is a four week ICT summer camp for students aged between 12 and 18 years old. The first edition took place earlier this year, between July 31st and August 25th, 2023. 100 students were nominated by their school to participate, with an impressive 96% completion rate. The course was also split evenly by gender, with 50% male, 50% female students taking part – ensuring vital STEM skills were truly available to all.
The camp focused on highly skilled and sought after skills such as coding, photography, graphic design, digital literacy, video production and robotics. There were also intensive sessions on artificial intelligence, blockchain and cybersecurity, as well as an insightful lesson on ways these students could discover and build their careers in STEM.
Why STEM?
The aim of our STEM Holiday Clubs is to aid students in developing core science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills that apply to both school subjects and, beyond that, their future careers. Robotics kits and computers donated by SLGS OBA were utilised for sessions on programming and building various machines to learn engineering theory through practical lessons.
STEM skills for all
Each attendee had 24 training sessions – 16 during the four weeks of the summer camp and 8 Saturday sessions held in the 1st term of their school curriculum (Sept 23 to November 23).
The tutors for these sessions comprised alumni from both schools, some of whom flew into the country from the UK, USA and Ghana. These tutors were able to pass on in-depth knowledge and practical skills in their respective subjects.
With female participation accounting for half the participants, we introduced a dedicated Girls Can Code club as a means of increasing access to and awareness of STEM subjects in a key underrepresented group.
Tuition and lunch were completely free. In addition, expenses were given to the students to cover their travel cost for the days they attended the STEM sessions. A special thanks to project coordinators Bassie Turay and Donald Smith, as well as SLGS School principal Rev Ken Davies, for the use of the SLGS facilities.
Tuition and lunch were completely free. In addition, expenses were given to the students to cover their travel cost for the days they attended the STEM sessions. A special thanks to project coordinators Bassie Turay and Donald Smith, as well as SLGS School principal Rev Ken Davies, for the use of the SLGS facilities.
Anniegrams STEM Holiday Camps 2023: Building the Future Now
Here are a selection of videos produced by the talented 2023 participants in our STEM Holiday Camp. Students aged between 12 and 18 took intensive sessions on subjects as diverse as digital graphic design, robotics, coding, video production and more. Click on any video below to watch.
FRANCIS THE PROCRASTINATOR
ALJAR: BODY
SCARLET TV: A TOUR AROUND THE SIERRA LEONE GRAMMAR SCHOOL
WELCOME TO THE STEM HOLIDAY CLUB 2023
TBL NEWS NETWORK
Media Coverage and feedback
Faculty and participants at the end of the STEM Holiday Club
The STEM Holiday Club received coverage throughout local media sources, across TV, radio and newsprint. A selection of local news articles are highlighted below.
Feedback from parents was highly complimentary, with glowing feedback shared with the school, sponsors and tutors alike following the course. But why take our word for it? Here are some quotes from parents:
“Well done to you guys!”
“These two schools are doing marvellous things!”
“Kudos to the old boys Grammar School assoc!”
“The first day was exciting.”
“Very accommodating.”
“I can’t contain my excitement! Thank you so much.”
Both attendees and participants were recognised with a certificate of excellence. The top performing boy and girl in each stream received their very own robots!
Young innovation was a hallmark of our STEM Camps. We presented Robotics prizes to the breakout pupils of four participating schools, recognising the significant contribution each winner made to the holiday club.
Robotics prize winner at Sierra Leone Grammar School
Awarding prizes at the Methodist Girls High School
Presenting prizes to the pupils of Annie Walsh Memorial School, sister school to SLGS
What next?
Following the success of our first Anniegrams STEM Holiday Club, planning is already underway for the next step. Beginning in 2024, the Anniegrams STEM Saturday School will take scientific learning to the next level for a lucky first cohort of students.
Between Febuary 24 and July 24, students selected from 22 regional schools will have the chance to undertake a fun, inspiring and intensive STEM program, focussing on areas such as robotics, coding, app development, graphic design and multimedia production. Operating every other Saturday for 7 months, the Saturday School adds a touch of competition to student innovation, with a project pitching challenge.
Groups of participants will utilise funding of up to £100 to develop their chosen project, with their budget dependent on convincing a panel of expert mentors known as the STEM Club Bank to invest in their idea.
The STEM challenges include designing a smart home, creating a video game, or building a solar-powered project, writing code to solve a need in your community, setting up a graphic design or making musical jingles aimed at business. The challenges and format are intended to develop skills that will allow participants to excel in a number of fields and across multiple sectors.
At the end of the course, each team pitches a final project to present to a panel of judges, who are also potential investors, in a Dragon’s Den style competition. Success will depend on convincing the panel that the winning project is innovative, feasible, and profitable while answering questions and negotiating the best deal for your team.
Over the course of the Saturday School, students will learn to pitch, network and brainstorm in a professional, innovative manner, building the creatives, inventors and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The camp will build lasting friendships and develop skills that can help drive the STEM sector in Sierra Leone for generations to come. As with the STEM Holiday Camp, funding from friends of SLGS via the SLGS OBA is essential to the Saturday School’s long-term future. Help us realise this potential by supporting us in the link below.
SUPPORT STEM IN SIERRA LEONE
One of the great successes of the new, improved Sierra Leone Grammar School has been the implementation of a wide-reaching and ambitious new STEM program on campus. Workshops focusing on STEM skills such as robotics, coding, app development, graphic design and multimedia production have been introduced, and the next step of this programme begins in early 2024 with our first STEM Saturday Club.
Funded primarily by the Sierra Leone Grammar School Old Boys Association Foundation Trust (SLGS OBA), the STEM Saturday Club takes place over 7 months between January and July, offering fun bi-weekly sessions covering both practical stem skills and other industry-focused areas such as pitching, funding and networking. Children nominated by 22 of the region’s schools, aged between 12 and 18 years old, are eligible for the club.
SLGS OBA is a global alumni network committed to supporting, renovating and modernising Sierra Leone Grammar School. The work supported by SLGS OBA UK has increased digital literacy and STEM knowledge amongst both staff and pupils, allowing us to share knowledge with educators across Sierra Leone. Our chapters in the UK and USA run local community events, health initiatives and fundraising programmes. With your support we can give back to the school and bring world class educational infrastructure to the region and empower the bright futures of both SLGS and Sierra Leone. You can hear from one of our fundraisers, Dannette Davies, here.
