FEMALE students from Rendcomb College who wanted to inspire girls at their school to consider careers in technology, science and maths talked about what inspired and concerned them.

To celebrate International Women's Day on Tuesday, March 8, fifth form students Grace Balchin, 16, Eleni Dimopoulos, 16, and Emily Sharman, 15, organised a careers event for their female classmates.

The event, which welcomed role models working in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects as guests, included a talk by technology company Ericsson. 

Grace said of the event: "It's great to see so many women come from the technology company, Ericsson.

"Attitudes about women's work are changing everywhere, but the gender problem is still tucked away. We do not realise how few women there are in technology."

She said that this was probably due to "a gender imbalance in daily life. People expect women will do one thing and men another."

Grace, who will be taking physics, chemistry, biology and spanish for her A-levels and who hopes to become a doctor, said: "I've always thought it would feel slightly weird with there being just me and another girl in a physics class.

"It's because of perceptions that people have about men's and women's subjects."

Eleni, who will be taking physics, psychology, spanish and art for her A-levels, said of the choices women have to make: "It's a subject you think about all the time: will I be accepted? How will people look at me?"

Eleni's hopes to become a film maker has not stopped her from choosing to study physics. She said she owed her interest for physics to her teacher who "is always so passionate about the subject."

One of the most inspirational women for Eleni has been her grandmother. She said: "My grandmother is a very strong woman. She is greek and greek people are not very accepting of females.

"But she did not let that stop her from doing what she wanted, which was to work at a bank as a woman.

"Our teacher always tells us that whenever we feel insignificant, we should remember that we are made of the Universe, which is huge."

Grace said her biggest inspiration has been her teachers and parents who have allowed her to pursue her interests. She said: "My parents have always said that the greatest thing they could give me was a good education.

"They do not care what I do, whether I become a hair dresser or a plumber.

"I always had big dreams of being a doctor while my sister wants to be a PE teacher."

The careers lunch was organised after the girls won £25,000 in the Longitude Explorer Prize competition in November last year, where they devised an app to help charities locate homeless people and refugees.