On Wednesday 29th November, Mr Julian Critchlow, a partner in Bain & Company, gave a talk on ‘STEM and the Art of Channel Swimming’.

Mr Critchlow has a background in chemical engineering and spoke to the girls about transitioning from STEM subjects at school and at university to STEM in the corporate world. Mr Critchlow explained the importance of STEM subjects, particularly technology, in developing new sustainable ideas, such as fully autonomous cars and artificial intelligence. These two areas intrigued the girls, who were pleasantly surprised by the fact that in a few years time, we will have fully driverless cars! Some girls were concerned about new technological advances, such as AI, because of the ethical issues that they pose. However, Mr Critchlow emphasised how vital and prized STEM subjects are because the skills that are gained from studying subjects such as Mathematics, Physics or Computer Science. These are essential both in the workplace and, indeed, in everyday life. For example, Mr Critchlow, who is a passionate channel swimmer, told us that he uses vector Mathematics to calculate which direction he’s swimming, as well as when and where he will reach the shore. This just shows how important Mathematics is outside of the classroom!

Overall, everyone who attended thoroughly enjoyed the talk and thank you to Mr Critchlow for coming, and to Mr Dare for organising the event.

Karina, STEM Prefect