Hamilton launches first Mission 44 partnership

Ian Parkes
Tuesday 5 October 2021 01:01

Lewis Hamilton has launched the first partnership from his charitable foundation Mission 44 he hopes will increase the number of Black teachers in STEM subjects.

Hamilton launched Mission 44 earlier this year with the ambition to support, empower and champion young people from underserved communities.

It will now team up with education charity Teach First on a two-year programme to recruit 150 Black STEM teachers to work in disadvantaged communities in England through its training programme.

The partnership builds upon the findings from The Hamilton Commission which identified that from 500,000 teachers in England, only two per cent are from Black backgrounds and 46 per cent of schools in England have no racially diverse teachers.

The lack of Black STEM teachers is even more pronounced, underlining Hamilton's drive to establish the partnership with Teach First, notably given his own experiences in school where he encountered no Black teachers.

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

"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.”