Throughout the first few months of 2023, The Millfields Inspired Widening Horizons Project embarked on a series of inspiring educational trips, taking year 5 students from Pilgrim Primary School, Marlborough Primary Academy, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and many others on a journey of discovery and exposing them to a wide variety of workplaces and industries. From learning all about the National Marine Aquarium, to having SDS visit their respective schools, and even making sales videos with Volkswagen Plymouth, Widening Horizons has provided students with the unique opportunity to learn about different careers and explore their interests.
We want to say a massive thank you to everyone that not only allowed students to visit them, but also for taking the time to educate and inspire them! Many of the students that went on one of our Widening Horizons trips went home with new aspirations for their futures as well as new interests in general – none of which would have happened without the amazing people that helped to make these trips possible. These trips have been proven to be a valuable resource in inspiring and guiding students to make informed decisions about their future education and career paths.
We are all very excited for all of the Widening Horizons trips that are planned for the rest of 2023 and can’t wait for all of the fun and education-filled days out that are already planned! If any businesses would like to support the Widening Horizons programme then we would love to hear from you!
Keep an eye on our website for future updates from Millfields Inspired about our Widening Horizons trips as well as all other upcoming projects that we have planned in the community.
National Marine Aquarium
The year 5 children from The Cathedral School of St Mary had a great time at National Marine Aquarium as part of Widening Horizons. Not only did they get to see all the wonderful sea life, the children also got to go behind the scenes and talk to a variety of different employees, who shared with us what they do within the aquarium. The children then got to dive into the world of Marnie Biology where they became a Marnie Biologist for the afternoon! what an experience for the children and a great way to show them many different roles.
EE Plymouth
The year 5’s from St George’s C of E Primary Academy got the chance to visit EE Plymouth as part of Widening Horizons, the children had the chance to go behind the scenes, go on a guided tour around the offices and got to speak to some members of staff, explore different parts of the offices to see what they are used for, and enjoyed an amazing breakfast! then they had the chance to design their own phones which let the children run wild with their imaginations.
Cattewater Harbour Commissioners
Cattewater Harbour Commissioners welcomed the year 5 children from The Cathedral School of St Mary into their ‘office’ as part of our Widening Horizons Programme. The children had an amazing day exploring the tug and pilot boat. They learnt all about cargo, exports and even discovered what goes through are very own Plymouth port! The children even got to go on a boat trip around the sound where they had the opportunity to be shown how to use a map and find where they are on the map which they enjoyed and inspired them.
Service Design Solution (SDS)
As part of Widening Horizons, the year 5 from Pilgrim Primary School welcomed Services Design Solution into their classroom where they learnt all about engineering, where they can find and example of engineering in the classroom, outside school and at home. They had some time to design their own inventions, present to the class and discuses their designs.
For our second half of our session the children got given spaghetti and marshmallows to make their own structures discovering how to make their structures strong, sturdy and tall. we had such a great time!
Peninsula Dental School
The year 5 children from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School got the chance to go to Peninsula Dental School to learn about dentistry and different jobs within. They also got to meet the students and staff. Then the children got involved in an activity where they learnt how to fill a tooth, identify decay and discover how much sugar is in some food and drinks.
The children explored different jobs such as dental nurse, lab technician, receptionist, practice manager and of course a dentist. For the final activity the children were given playdoh to mould their very own tooth and learnt about the different layers within the tooth.
Cattewater Harbour Commissioners
The year 5 children from Pilgrim Primary School got to go and visit Cattewater Harbour Commissioners as part of Widening Horizons. The children were welcomed into the office where they learnt about different job roles and had the chance to ask some fantastic questions about the different jobs. The first activity the children looked at exports and where things come from. Everything from clay, animal feed and wood chippings which was very interesting. For the second activity, the children got to go down on to the harbour and explore two different boats, the pilot and a tug boat.
To finish off the day the children went on a boat trip around the sound were they saw the Royal William Yard, Drakes Island and the Dock Yard. The year 5 children even got to see the pilot in action as it passed us!
EE Plymouth
A fantastic Widening Horizons visit to EE with St Peter’s C of E, Plymouth Y5/6 pupils. The children spoke to lots of the staff, learning all about the different jobs people do there and how well the company look after their employees. A great time (and breakfast) was had by all!
Kier Construction
St Andrew’s Y5 pupils visited the Market Hall with Widening Horizons to find out about careers from Kier Construction. The immersive video gave the children an opportunity to think about the skills needed in roles they hadn’t previously thought of – gateman, quantity surveyor, site manager, dryliner, groundworker etc. The children really enjoyed hearing one of the apprentices describe her route into the industry and experiences as she trains.
The year 5s were also treated to some amazing film clips by the Real Ideas Organisation!
The ‘Unwrapped House’
Have you ever wondered about all the different stages involved in building a house? Marlborough Primary Academy Y5 pupils had the chance to find out during their visit to the ‘Unwrapped House’ at Sherford with Widening Horizons. The children were able to look at the utilities behind the walls and design decoration mood boards for a show home. They also got hands-on experience with brickwork patterns and identifying plants in the landscaped gardens.It was a fantastic opportunity to find out about the many different jobs in construction – a huge thank you to YGS Landscapes Ltd, Countryside Partnerships and Sherford Skills Training Scheme.
EE Plymouth
The Y5 pupils from Pilgrim Primary School were treated to an excellent breakfast and the chance to explore the different roles within the organisation at EE. The children enjoyed finding out about the benefits of being an employee and admired the state-of-the-art facilities!
Volkswagen Plymouth
Mount Wise Y5 pupils enjoyed a fascinating look at the workings of a car dealership with Murray Volkswagen Plymouth in Millbay. They had a great time looking at the workshop tools and jobs, washing cars in the valet bay, and even making their own sales videos! There was something to appeal to everyone in the wide variety of jobs they experienced.
If you would like to find out more about our Widen Horizon’s programme please visit the Millfields Inspired website.