Senior teaching staff have again praised the Silverstone Park Schools Programme for its work in helping students gain a greater understanding of the types of careers in technology that may be available to them in future and how to pursue them.
Some 600 students from The Buckingham School, Sponne School in Towcester and Kingsthorpe College in Northampton have benefited from the programme, managed by Ahead Partnership.
Business leaders from companies located at Silverstone Park have each volunteered their time to run workshops in classrooms and have also invited students to take a guided tour of their workplaces.
Businesses to have volunteered their time include some of the UK’s most innovative names in advanced engineering and manufacturing, such as Delta Cosworth, Digital Manufacturing Centre, Ducati, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, Lunaz Applied Technologies, Multiview Media, PUNCH Flybrid, Silverstone Composites and high-tech organisation the Silverstone Technology Cluster.
Workshops by CoFiGi (human neural performance), National College for Motorsport (training motorsport technicians), TD Group (recruitment) and Kirsty Edmonds Photography (press photography) have added to the experience for students as have tours of the Silverstone Interactive Museum.
After Year 9 students from Kingsthorpe College visited Silverstone Park, Deputy Headteacher Scott Wade commented:
“Our students were buzzing on the bus back to school – they had a really good day and were extremely positive about this valuable experience.
“In fact, many were taken aback with the use of technology at such a practical level.
The experience has definitely opened their eyes and got them thinking about their futures – what type of skills and jobs could be available to them and, just as importantly, how to get there from where they are now in their lives.
“A huge thanks to those involved giving up their valuable time to support our students.”
There was also a visit to the estate by Year 8s from The Buckingham School whose Clodagh Shanahan, Head of Business Studies, said: “This has opened up their minds to lots of new possibilities in the world of work that they wouldn’t be aware of…
“They are at a young age so many will only think of practical jobs such as nurse or teacher.
“This experience has instead enabled them to see what the people inside these businesses do and realise these are careers, too, in sectors and industries they wouldn’t know exists which is exciting.
“A lot of the students loved the laser scanning in Hexagon and creating a 3D image. Others enjoyed taking part in a pit stop challenge at the National College for Motorsport including the girls which was great to see.”
Following a visit by businesses to her school, Sponne’s Learning Leader for PSHE, Ann Warner, enthused:
This is the fourth year we have been included in the Silverstone Park Schools Programme and again it has proven to be a really positive experience for students who have undoubtedly had a whole new world opened up to them in terms of career types and pathways.
“During our most recent activity at Sponne, students completed workshops with Hexagon, Lunaz, Cosworth, Multiview Media, Ahead Partnership, Silverstone Composites, Punch Flybrid and Ducati and were able to find out more about what these companies have to offer.
“Students also had the opportunity to ask questions of the employers/employees of these companies to find out more about what it is like to work at Silverstone Park and within a tech industry.
“A bonus for some students on the day was to see a Ducati motorcycle up close for the first time and to see 3D scanning in action with Hexagon and to find out how this is revolutionising the sector.”
