Girls and pupils from disadvantaged secondary schools will be prioritised for new government support to support them to study maths and into AI-based careers.
Ministers have announced around £8.2 million of funding as part of the advanced maths support programme, and the money will be targeted towards 400 disadvantaged secondary schools, and the Government says that around 7,500 girls will be eligible for support.
Among the funding promises are student enrichment courses and pilot teacher training programmes, which the Department for Education says will benefit 450 students and 360 teachers from this September.
According to the Government, around a third of A-level maths students are currently girls, and around 22% of people working in AI-related jobs are women.
The Education Secretary has said that officials are “breaking down barriers to opportunity”.
Bridget Phillipson said: “Today’s brightest maths minds are tomorrow’s AI pioneers, and this government is opening the door for groups who have so far been left behind in the AI revolution.
“Through our plan for change we are breaking down barriers to opportunity, backing our young people and going further and faster for AI growth ensuring the next generation can progress in the exciting careers of the future.”
Tech Secretary Peter Kyle described AI as the “defining technology of our generation”.
“We can only harness that potential if we have a pipeline of talent equipped with the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow,” he added.
“This is the first step in our plan to give every young person in the country the opportunity to develop the tools which will put them front and centre in delivering our AI-powered future.”
Ms Phillipson is also convening a group of experts to advise on what changes would be needed in the curriculum and education system up to aged 18 to help pupils gain the skills that would be useful in the AI field.
The group will be chaired by Sir Kevan Collins, a non-executive member of the board at the Department for Education, and a former chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation.
