The first conference between schools designed to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) took place yesterday (June 29).

Leyton Sixth Form College in Essex Road hosted around 150 teachers and delegates from Sir George Monoux College in Chingford Road, Heathcote School in Normanton Park, Chingford and Holy Family Catholic School in Shernhall Street all eager to learn more about the subjects.

The conference, funded by the London Schools Excellence Fund, had the theme of ‘achieving excellence in teaching and learning in STEM subjects’ and provided an opportunity for colleagues to share current thinking around the subjects.

Over the course of the day, teachers chose from 15 workshops, interactive seminars and demonstrations from Google UK, the CERN Institute, AQA, The University of Westminster and the Manchester Metropolitan University to help inform their teaching of the borough's students.

The keynote address was provided by Professor Sa’ad Medhat, the founding chief executive of NEF: The Innovations Institute, and teachers were kept up-to-date with the latest discoveries from the Large Hadron Collider by Dr Cristina Lazzeroni from the University of Birmingham.

A Leyton Sixth Form College spokeswoman said the event was a success.

She said: "We all had a great day. The promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects to young people has never been more important as both the UK and international markets continue to seek enthusiastic and highly qualified recruits."