The initial two-year partnership with education charity Teach First marks the first initiative of Hamilton’s Mission 44 project,𝔉 which was set up earlier this year following a personal pledge of £20m from the Briton as part of his continued push to improve diversity and inclusion among underrepresented groups in the UK.

Alongside Teach First, Hamilton’s Mission 44 foundation aims to “pilot a range of new approaches to identify best practices when recruiting black STEM teachers”, with the “ambition to support the recruitment and training of 150 black STEM teachers to work in schools serving disadvantaged communities in England.”&nꦰbsp;

It comes after The Hamilton Commission identified that only 2% of the 500,000 teachers in England are from black backgrounds and that 46% of schꦕools in England have no racially diverse teachers at all. 

Seven-time world champion Hamilton’s motivation foܫr the partnership stemmed from his own experiences at school and having no black teachers throughout his entire education. 

“I am incredibly proud to be an𒅌nouncing the first partnership from Mission 44 today,” Ha♌milton said. 

“Our workꦡ with Teach First is another step towards addressing𝕴 barriers preventing young Black students' engagement with STEM, as identified in The Hamilton Commission report. 

“We know 💮representation and role models are important across all aspects of society, but especially when it comes to support🉐ing young people’s development. 

“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. 

“It’s our hope other organisations recruiting teachers will su𓄧pport and join us on our mission to see more diversity in the classroom.”

It is hoped that the presence of more black teachers in classrooms across the UK will help inspire students from underrepresented gr꧃oups to pursue care🌜ers in STEM subjects. 

Dame Vivian Hunt, chair of Teach Firs🦩t said: “There is an urgent need for quality teachers as we address the educational disadvantage in the poorest com🍎munities across the UK. 

“The teaching workforce does not reflect the diversity of our💧 pupils and the country - and Black teachers remain a significantly underr♓epresented group in our classroom, creating even more barriers for our Black students. This partnership is an opportunity for this to change. 

“Recruiting more Black STEM teachers over the next two years se💙nds a clear message for Black student⭕s that they too can aspire to have a successful career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.”