As part of our science qualifications we aim to give students experiences that will open their minds to all of the amazing careers in STEM. To do this we took our science students on a residential to Manchester where they got to experience indoor skydiving and visit Manchester Metropolitan University campus. As part of their indoor skydiving experience, students were shown how the machines work and were all given a 45min training session on how to skydive. Entering the wind tunnels the students then experienced first-hand how skydiving works with a trained instructor.
Going on to visit the University, students were taken around their cutting-edge Science and Engineering Departments. Here they got the chance to look at laboratories including a high-tech laser laboratory and hear about Manchester universities MRI scanner. Students were then given a presentation on science at university and had the chance to talk about university life and explore a range of different jobs in science.
As part of their trip students were given the time to individually explore Manchester city centre and the Trafford Centre and took in a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry. In a specially-booked exhibition, students got to see Tim Peake’s spacecraft as well as try many interactive science experiments. Organiser Alan Cook talked about the success of the visit stating that the learners really benefitted from experiencing Manchester independently as well as fully embracing their visit, giving everything a go.
“The students had a great time. As part of the careers work we do here at college, we measured how interested they were in university and careers in Science and looked at the feedback we got from the learners which had raised their aspirations and awareness of careers. Giving learners from Hartlepool the opportunity to visit somewhere like Manchester and experience university life on the campus will be something that will enable students to make more informed decisions in their futures. We cannot wait to do more visits when we move into the new academic year in September.”
If you are interested in a career in Science, check out our courses here >> bit.ly/hcfeScience