CityFibre has announced a partnership with STEM Learning, committing £150,000 over three years to support digital education in schools. This initiative will benefit more than 80 schools across the UK, including eight in Norfolk, as part of CityFibre’s broader efforts to bridge the digital skills gap.
As part of Project Gigabit, CityFibre is working to connect over 1.3 million homes and businesses in rural and hard-to-reach areas over the next five years. Alongside this infrastructure expansion, the company is dedicated to investing in education to help young people develop essential digital skills.
One of the key elements of this partnership is the launch of Computing Clusters, a module delivered by the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE), which is funded by the Department for Education and provided through STEM Learning. This programme will enable school staff, from teachers to leadership teams, to work together to enhance computing education for their students.
Eight Norfolk schools—Jane Austen College, Duke of Lancaster School, Wayland Academy, Great Yarmouth Charter Academy, Cromer Academy, The Thetford Academy, King Edward VII Academy, and Hewett Academy—will take part in the initiative.
By 2030, the UK is expected to face a shortage of one million engineers. CityFibre’s partnership with STEM Learning aims to tackle this issue by demonstrating how exciting and accessible STEM careers can be.
Stacey King, Senior Partnership Manager at CityFibre, highlighted the significance of this initiative: “Our partnership with STEM Learning underlines CityFibre’s social value commitments and, as part of the Project Gigabit programme, we are investing in the future and equipping young people with the skills they need to thrive in a digital world.”
