Lewis Hamilton foundation to help recruit black STEM teachers

The initial two-year partnership with education charity Teach First marks the first initiative of Hamilton’s Mission 44 project, which was set up earlier this year following a personal pledge of £20m from the Briton as part of his continued push to improve diversity and inclusion among underrepresented groups in the UK.

Alongside Teach First, Hamilton’s Mission 44 foundation aims to “pilot a range of new approaches to identify best practices when recruiting black STEM teachers”, with the “ambition to support the recruitment and training of 150 black STEM teachers to work in schools serving disadvantaged communities in England.” 

It comes after The Hamilton Commission identified that only 2% of the 500,000 teachers in England are from black backgrounds and that 46% of schools in England have no racially diverse teachers at all. 

Seven-time world champion Hamilton’s motivation for the partnership stemmed from his own experiences at school and having no black teachers throughout his entire education. 

“I am incredibly proud to be announcing the first partnership from Mission 44 today,” Hamilton said. 

“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.”

It is hoped that the presence of more black teachers in classrooms across the UK will help inspire students from underrepresented groups to pursue careers in STEM subjects. 

Dame Vivian Hunt, chair of Teach First said: “There is an urgent need for quality teachers as we address the educational disadvantage in the poorest communities across the UK. 

“The teaching workforce does not reflect the diversity of our pupils and the country - and Black teachers remain a significantly underrepresented group in our classroom, creating even more barriers for our Black students. This partnership is an opportunity for this to change. 

“Recruiting more Black STEM teachers over the next two years sends a clear message for Black students that they too can aspire to have a successful career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.”