On Thursday 10th November, pupils from Risedale attended a STEM Careers Fair held in the school hall featuring stalls representing a wide variety of employers and further education providers.
STEM is a broad term used to bring together the academic disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Exhibitors from further education establishments and the world of work highlighted the possibilities of what could be on offer to the pupils when they leave Risedale post-16 and beyond.
Exhibitors at the event included: Army Youth Outreach, Askham Bryan College, The ASK Programme, C U Phosco Lighting, Darlington College, Purple Creative Studio, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, and WSP Engineering.
PHOTO L-R: Purple Creative Studio; Amanda Winstanley and Allan Guy. Year 8 Risedale pupils; Aidan Mackintosh, Ria Glenn, Emily-Faye Fort and Kai Martin.
Every hour, a different year group of pupils (7-11) had the opportunity to move around the stalls and speak to the visitors, tasked with completing a booklet that encouraged meaningful conversations.
Ria Glenn (12 yrs old) in Year 8 said:
“It’s been fun learning about everything on offer and thinking about what we could do in the future. Everyone I spoke to was really friendly and gave me loads of great advice. It’s been a brilliant day!”
Allan Guy, Technical Director of Purple Creative Studio, a digital agency based in Aske, Richmond, said:
“We could see that some of the pupils were a little nervous to talk with us initially, but once they relaxed, they asked us about all sorts of things such as coding and website building as well as digital marketing. We’ve literally spoken to hundreds of students here today and I can honestly say every single one of them has been polite and engaged; they’ve been a credit to the school.”
Mark Kirkbride, Senior Teacher responsible for STEM at Risedale said:
“Having such a broad array of colleges and employers helping to promote STEM has been an amazing experience for our pupils. So many of our young people did not realise just how important these disciplines are and the opportunities available to them once they leave the Risedale Family. From speaking to the exhibitors I think they all enjoyed the day as much as our pupils did.”
Aidan Mackintosh (12 years old) said:
“There were lots of stalls and opportunities to talk to people. I like the idea of a career in engineering. It’s been great talking to everyone here today.”
Mrs Porritt, Careers Leader said:
“I would like to thank all the exhibitors for giving up their time to help support our pupils here at Risedale. Everyone had a great day finding out lots of information to help support their decision-making process when considering future career pathways and further education. It has been an amazing day, with lots of really engaging conversations .”
PHOTO: Mark Kirkbride, Senior Teacher and Helen Porritt, Careers Leader.
For more information on our Careers, Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme, please click here.