Watch our video where we are joined by Maggie Philbin, who tells us why there may be a lack in clarity amongst young people when it comes to choosing subjects that will enhance their future career paths.

Contrary to common perceptions, STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) are among pupils’ favourites at school, but there’s a clear gap between subjects pupils enjoy themselves, and the ones that they think are most popular amongst their classmates.

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Many students could be overlooking STEM subjects and missing out on future opportunities as a result. The research conducted by E.ON, which polled 2,000 children aged between 8 and 15, found that whilst Maths is the most popular subject overall, it is still a much more popular subject for boys than girls (46% compared to 34%).

It’s a similar story for ICT/Computing which is almost twice as popular with boys as it is girls (40% compared to 24%). English was girls’ favourite subject (42% compared to 28% of boys), indicating a gender imbalance when it comes to more technical subjects.

In our video we speak to television and radio presenter Maggie Philbin as she explains the importance of keeping STEM subjects enjoyable for both boys and girls in order to encourage them to choose these options at GCSE, A-Level and beyond, and why subject choice is such a crucial part of a young person’s future.

We also talk to Fiona Stark from E.ON who wants to ensure that schoolchildren are shown the benefits of an education in STEM by creating workshops and demonstrations to help improve enjoyment of these subjects.