For many families today, that question quickly leads to another, ‘are our children prepared for a world driven by science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)?’ In short, are they truly future-ready?
During my years as a headmaster, I frequently spoke with parents about the importance of STEM subjects versus humanities and the creative arts. My view was that up to GCSE, students should have a broad curriculum that included a wide variety of subject areas including STEM. I knew that STEM education allowed pupils to test ideas and solve problems, students learned that challenges were not obstacles but opportunities.
Parents often worried that STEM was too technical or too difficult. What if my child struggled with maths? What if science felt intimidating? But the real aim was not perfection. The aim was exposure, confidence, and resilience. They were learning how to think critically and how to experiment. In a rapidly changing world, were these not precisely the skills our children would need most?
However, at A Level/IB, pupils needed to think carefully as to whether they should continue with certain subjects that ‘conceptually’ were a marked step change from GCSE. At some senior schools, unless students had achieved 8’s and 9’s (at GCSE) in Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics (and Languages) then it was unlikely that they could take STEM subjects at A Level. I always felt that it was a shame as there were many pupils who wanted to do STEM subjects at A Level but were discouraged because they were deemed not to have the ‘innate ability’ to secure top grades at that level.
What does it truly mean to be future-ready? Artificial intelligence, renewable energy, biotechnology, and space exploration are no longer distant ideas. They are shaping industries, economies, and careers right now. We must ask, how do we prepare our children for these jobs? Is it mastering a particular technology? Memorising complex formulas? Or is it something deeper - adaptability, confidence, and the ability to learn continuously?
The truth is that no one can predict the exact careers our children will pursue. Many jobs in the future may not even exist yet. But if they develop the habits of inquiry, problem-solving, and innovation that STEM education (at whatever level) fosters, they will be prepared to face whatever future unfolds.
So, the most important question parents can ask is, ‘are we helping our children become curious, capable and courageous learners?’
If the answer is yes, then we are already preparing them for the future.
Editors
