The Lewis Hamilton Commission has been investigating diversity within F1 since June 2020 and their findings discovered that it was a lack of access to education that was one of the biggest preventers of diversity within the sport. Now Hamilton has launched a partnership with the charity Mission 44 and Teach First in an effort to recruit more science, technology, engineering, and maths teachers of colour in England.
Hamilton said of the partnership in a statement, “I am incredibly proud to be announcing the first partnership from Mission 44 today… Our work with Teach First is another step towards addressing barriers preventing young Black students’ engagement with STEM, as identified in The Hamilton Commission report.”
“By establishing this partnership, which focuses on identifying the best way to attract Black talent to STEM teaching roles, we hope to create a framework the wider education industry can implement,” he said.
“It’s our hope other organizations recruiting teachers will support and join us on our mission to see more diversity in the classroom,” Hamilton added.
ESPN reported that Hamilton has pledged over £20 million of his own money to Mission 44 in July alone.
The head of Teach First, Dame Vivian Hunt, said,
“The entire Teach First community is very excited to launch this partnership with Mission 44 and Lewis Hamilton. There is an urgent need for quality teachers as we address the educational disadvantage in the poorest communities across the U.K… This partnership is an opportunity for this to change… Recruiting more Black STEM teachers over the next two years sends a clear message for Black students that they too can aspire to have a successful career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.”