Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton paid a visit to the pupils of the Mulberry STEM Academy at the Mulberry School for Girls in East London on Tuesday.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton visited Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets, London, on Tuesday 5 December to see first-hand how the Mulberry Schools Trust and Mercedes are helping to encourage students from under-represented backgrounds to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) through the Accelerate 25 partnership.

The visit provided an opportunity for the Formula 1 star to engage in various hands-on STEM activities, including a STEM exhibition, a robotics lesson where he learnt about coding, and an immersive art experience that showcased the students’ technical skills in digital engineering and manufacturing.

Following the lesson, the students showed Lewis their racetrack garage and displayed their Greenpower Trust cars. During a tour of the school, the pupils also had the opportunity to ask the Mercedes driver questions and ask him for tips.

Among the pupils chosen to accompany Lewis on his visit were representatives from the Mulberry STEM Academy. The academy was launched in 2020 as part of the Accelerate 25 programme. It offers imaginative teaching, career coaching and industry experience, supported and coached by team members. The main aim of the partnership is to promote diversity in STEM, F1 and the team.

At the end of the third year, 271 students have taken part in the programme so far, many of whom have chosen to study STEM subjects in their further education. In addition, hundreds of primary school aged children have been reached through a series of dynamic, hands-on Mulberry STEM Roadshow events.

Tuesday’s audience consisted of a passionate mix of secondary and sixth form students, six Mulberry STEM Academy alumni, 183 students currently enrolled in the STEM Academy and 28 Year 5 students, all of whom demonstrated their passion and enthusiasm for STEM subjects.

Dr Vanessa Ogden, CEO of Mulberry Schools Trust, said: “It is a visit that the students will remember for the rest of their lives and will inspire them to achieve great things themselves.” Paul Mills, Chief People Officer at Mercedes, said: “Visiting Mulberry School for Girls with Lewis and being able to see the students’ talent and future prospects first-hand again was very exciting.” And he thanked everyone involved for the programme.

Lewis Hamilton also said: “A big thank you to all the students and staff at Mulberry Schools Trust for welcoming me to their school. It was an honour to meet so many passionate and intelligent students and to see the ground-breaking work the Mulberry Schools Trust and our team are doing to inspire and support young engineers and bring more diversity to motorsport. I hope the students continue to believe in themselves and show the rest of the world what they are capable of.”