The Atherton Award recognises girls who show entrepreneurial thinking in a STEM discipline. The award is run by Amber Atherton, British entrepreneur and investor. Amber has been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 and was previously Head of Strategic Communities at Discord and CEO of software start-up Zyper. She is passionate about incentivising more young women in the UK to pursue entrepreneurial or STEM careers.

Students were invited to submit an application which demonstrates their initiative in starting and completing a STEM project. They were asked to share their achievement, the challenges they faced, what they have learned and how they plan to develop their idea.

Students from 13 different GDST schools across the country participated in the Award this year, and the winner from each school received a trophy, £500 to support the next phase of their journey and a day of mentoring with a tech entrepreneur.

Anusha’s entry was based on an online educational tool for GCSE Maths and Further Maths students which helps them visualise and understand formulas of 2D and 3D shapes. She created and coded the webpage herself. Anusha is entirely self-taught in the four coding languages that she used for the project, which go beyond the Computer Science syllabus at school.

Speaking about the challenges involved, Anusha comments:

“The process of trial and improvement I had to take with this project taught me a lot about the ins and outs of the programming languages I was so new to, and the mistakes I made motivated me to be better and taught me not to make the same errors next time. With C++, I had to learn its syntax which was a little trickier than Python which we learn to code in at school, which helped in widening my possibilities for software development.”

Anusha hopes that her webpage will help alleviate the stress surrounding a subject like maths and put the fun back into it. She intends to use the Award to help her go on to create bigger and better projects, with even more complex problems.

“Ultimately I want to be able to do everything in my power, using my skills surrounding technology, to help people.”

In her feedback, Amber Atherton explained:

“With job losses to AI in the coming decades predicted in the hundreds of millions, coding is one skill that looks futureproof. Chief Technology Officers are the most sought after hires in startups and there is an enormous shortage of them. Customers interact with your company through code so every founder should also have a basic understanding of coding, not just developers.

“I am delighted to recognize Anusha as the winner of The Atherton Award. Anusha created a tool for GCSE Maths and Further Maths students. She has been resilient in overcoming bugs in four different programming languages and is enthusiastic about learning emerging digital technologies.

“Not being afraid to ask for help is a key skill to cultivate as a young entrepreneur. Don’t be afraid to reach out cold to those who could mentor you. Remember people will always be impressed that you took a risk and believed in yourself to start something.

“Congratulations Anusha and congratulations to everyone who entered. From a robotics and electric car racing team to jewellery startups, Norwich High girls have entrepreneurial spirit in bucket loads and I can’t wait to watch, and maybe one day invest, in the incredible businesses you might build!”