LEWIS HAMILTON LAUNCHES INITIATIVE TO RECRUIT 150 BLACK STEM TEACHERS

Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, through his foundation Mission 44, is launching a scheme to support the recruitment of 150 Black teachers for science, technology and maths (STEM) subjects.

Mission 44 have announced their first partnership today, on World Teacher’s Day and during Black History Month. The partnership is a first step to tackle the lack of diversity in UK motorsport set out in the Hamilton Commission report. Partnering with TeachFirst UK, the initial programme is a two-year scheme to recruit and train 150 new Black teachers for STEM subjects.

“I really hope we can contribute towards society, which allows young people to succeed. […] I founded Mission 44 to directly support underserved young people. You know, everyone deserves the opportunity to have a great education and also a great career.” (Lewis Hamilton)

The Hamilton Commission has identified the importance of Black teachers and role models in looking to engage Black students with STEM subjects. Based on the Commission report, out of 500,000 teachers in England currently, only 2% are from Black backgrounds, and 46% of schools in England have no racially diverse teachers at all. The hope is that the pilot scheme this partnership creates can then be adopted by other educational bodies to further improve diversity in the educational system.

Hamilton said: “I am incredibly proud to be announcing the first partnership from Mission 44 today. Our work with Teach First is another step towards addressing barriers preventing young Black students’ engagement with STEM, as identified in The Hamilton Commission report. We know representation and role models are important across all aspects of society, but especially when it comes to supporting young people’s development. By establishing this partnership, which focuses on identifying the best way to attract Black talent to STEM teaching roles, we hope to create a framework the wider education industry can implement. It’s our hope other organisations recruiting teachers will support and join us on our mission to see more diversity in the classroom.”

Headline Image Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas F1

Article first written for and published on FormulaNerds.com in Autumn 2021