FEMALE sixth formers at Lydiard Park Academy are set to inspire younger girls to get excited about science by taking part in British Science Week’s Demo Day 2017.

This Tuesday, an all-female team will generate excitement among girls in Year 8 by conducting experiments to spark their curiosity about science.

The scheme is all part of Villiers Park Educational Trust’s INVOLVE initiative.

Students will demonstrate the role science plays in our daily lives and create a positive culture of girls engaging in science.

Kate Rayment, a Year 13 student at Lydiard Park Academy and Villiers Park scholar who is leading the project, said: “I'm very nervous about the event but very excited. I just want it all to run smoothly.

“As part of our demo day we hope to have some guest speakers from the science industry to inspire the students and educate them about the wide variety of careers available within the science industry.

“I hope that after demo day more students will consider careers within the science industry and we minimise the skill shortage that is set to become a problem in the not too distant future.”

The project will contribute to addressing the current gender inequality within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers.

The team’s experiments will include finding out whether there is a relationship between the mass of their homemade bouncy balls and how high they are able to bounce.

Women currently make up only 12.8 per cent of the STEM workforce. Furthermore, by 2020 the UK will require 830,000 professional scientists, engineers and technologists, which is well above the current output of UK graduate scientists.

To achieve this figure, attempts have been made to improve levels of diversity within the workforce and inspiring girls with a passion for science at a young age is a proven way of ensuring gender diversity.