- Business volunteers to deliver careers advice to hundreds of Year 8 & 9 students
- 6,500 ‘meaningful encounters’ with students during 2022-23 academic year
- The Buckingham School, Sponne School & Kingsthorpe College are all partner schools
The Silverstone Park Schools Programme, which provides local secondary school students with valuable advice about career types and pathways, will re-commence in December after having a positive impact on more than 800 young people in 2023.
The programme’s network of business volunteers – chiefly employees of companies at Silverstone Park – has already assembled to hear about scheduled activities with its partner schools during the 2023/24 academic year.
Silverstone Park occupiers Carbon Composite Solutions, CoFiGi Performance, Ducati UK, Fibonacci, Hexagon, Lunaz, Performance Projects, PUNCH Flybrid, Silverstone Composites and TD Group have all volunteered to take part in the programme. So have Silverstone Technology Cluster members EES Solutions, Jaltek and NS85.
Year 8 and 9 students (aged 12-14) at The Buckingham School in Buckingham, Kingsthorpe College in Northampton and Sponne School in Towcester will once more be the beneficiaries of advice from the volunteers through a series of in-class workshops and visits to businesses at Silverstone Park.
The programme is sponsored by Silverstone Park and developer MEPC, and managed by careers outreach specialist Ahead Partnership.
Leonie Matthews, Ahead Partnership’s Programme Manager, commented: “Silverstone Park’s occupiers have demonstrated their commitment to support local young people through their participation in our programme onsite.
“Together during the 2022-2023 academic year, we facilitated over 6,500 meaningful encounters between 845 young people from three local schools and volunteers. We are delighted to continue to deliver such impactful events and hope to build on the successes from this year.”
The Buckingham School’s Curriculum Leader of Business, Clodagh Shanahan, enthused: “The Silverstone Park Schools Programme gives students the opportunity to learn about new career paths that they might not have known about before, giving them the means to spark conversations with their parents at home.”
Sponne School’s PSHE Learning Leader Ann Warner continued: “The business volunteers demonstrate how it is possible to go from the classroom in your early teens to successfully running a business or holding a senior management role. This is giving our students a head start and is surely to the advantage of the local business community.”
Kingsthorpe College’s Assistant Headteacher Paul Crisp added: “The programme genuinely inspires and motivates students at what is a really important stage in their formative years and that is echoed by the feedback we receive from parents and teachers alike.”
CLICK HERE for more feedback from the schools.
Meanwhile, the participating businesses have also expressed enthusiasm for the forthcoming activity with the schools (CLICK HERE to read more).
Ducati UK’s Managing Director Fabrizio Cazzoli stated: “We are delighted to continue our support of the Silverstone Park Schools Programme which, through its volunteer network, is doing so much for teenagers – as well as their teachers and parents – in making them aware of career types and pathways that are on their doorstep.”
Silverstone Park Asset Manager, MEPC’s Ruth Williams, said: “We convey a huge thank you to the network of business volunteers who are giving up their time to go into schools and run workshops for the students and who are also hosting the youngsters for a tour of their own businesses here at Silverstone Park.
“As the number of businesses locating to Silverstone Park increases, so does the number of people being employed here – many of whom are in their youth which is great to see.
“The feedback from schools and students themselves shows how much of a positive impact the Silverstone Park Schools Programme has had on young people and we look forward to building on that success during the 2023/24 academic year.”
Businesses wishing to volunteer for the Silverstone Park Schools Programme should email leonie.matthews@aheadpartnership.org.uk
