STEM Charities Unite to Support Thousands of Young People and meet RAF Charitable Trust Aims

We are delighted to announce our exciting new partnership with The Smallpeice Trust to support over 17,500 young people across the UK, to access STEM education, with thanks to funding from the RAF Charitable Trust.

EDT is providing Industrial Cadets accreditation to the RAF Charitable Trust’s flagship programmes ‘Road to RIAT’ and ‘Blast Off to RIAT’, which is being delivered by The Smallpeice Trust. The programmes, which are already underway will support 561 schools this year and reach over a staggering 21,000 students nationally.

The ’Road to RIAT’ is a competition which tasks Key Stage 2 students with designing a sustainable aircraft, encouraging them to think carefully and creatively about air and space. ‘Blast Off to RIAT’ is a four-stage STEM programme that invites secondary school students aged 11-14 to explore the wonders of space through a series of engaging activities delivered face-to-face. These programmes support the aims of the RAF Charitable Trust to reach 0.5 million students per annum, inspiring them to fulfil their potential in in air, space and technology careers.

Inspired by its Patron, His Majesty, King Charles III, Industrial Cadets is a widely recognised, accredited awards scheme increasing diversity and inspiring young people through industry-based experiences to become part of the workforce of the future.

Established in 1966, The Smallpeice Trust aims to give young people the support they need to bring their big ideas to life through science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Helen Cuthill, CEO at The SmallpeiceTrust explained, “At The Smallpeice Trust, we believe that every young person deserves the opportunity to dream big and achieve more. By working together with the RAF Charitable Trust and EDT, we are building a future where creativity, knowledge, and excellence take flight—empowering the next generation to engineer a better world.”

Dr Kevin P Stenson, Director of The RAF Charitable Trust “The RAF Charitable Trust is proud to be convening this incredible partnership between two of our STEM strategic delivery partners, and our Principal Partner RAF STEM, with who we co-designed these unique programmes for primary and secondary school students across the UK. These programmes are consistent with our purpose to inspire young people to fulfil their potential in air, space and technology. Through these programmes, young people are given the chance to acquire knowledge about STEM and associated careers, develop key skills, and to celebrate their achievements at RIAT, the world’s largest military airshow; the proceeds from which power our work with young people.”

Julie Feest, CEO at EDT explained, “It’s fantastic to work in partnership with an organisation that feels as passionately as us about supporting young people from all backgrounds to access STEM opportunities. It is so important for educational charities to work together to further impact for the young people we serve, and with thanks to the RAF Charitable Trust we have started what we believe will be a long standing and developing partnership. Through our joint partnership with The Smallpeice Trust we aim to inspire students across the UK and ignite a passion in the STEM industries that can last a lifetime.

“After completing a programme, each student will receive an Industrial Cadets Award which celebrates their achievement and recognises the range of new skills that they have developed during their experience.”