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School visit to GCHQ |
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On Tuesday 23 March 2010, two teams of year 8 pupils being mentored by GCHQ as part of an initiative called Go4Set (see Note 1) will visit GCHQ at Benhall. Go4Set is a new Engineering Development Trust (see Note 2) initiative involving students, engineers and companies in exciting projects to stimulate the interest of young people in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) before they choose their GCSE subjects. The two teams visiting GCHQ, from Chosen Hill and Pittville schools, will each consist of seven pupils in Key Stage 3 education. As part of this year’s scheme, the pupils will have 10 weeks (excluding school holidays), to research how their school, their mentor’s company and the local area currently manage their waste disposal and subsequently come up with ideas of how their school can produce less waste. The idea that each team comes up with will then be submitted to a group of assessors and the winning team in Gloucestershire will receive a prize and a chance to proceed to the regional/national level of the competition. A core objective of the scheme is for the pupils to visit their mentor’s company and get an insight into the business. During the visit to GCHQ, the pupils will be given an oversight of what GCHQ does and also rare access to the GCHQ museum. In support of their Go4Set project, the team within GCHQ that manages sustainable development will also talk about the work that GCHQ is doing to ensure that it minimises its impact on the environment. Notes for Editors: 1. Go4Set Go4Set links teams of Year 8/9 (England) and S2 (Scotland) pupils with companies and universities to offer a 10 week science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) experience. By providing a real and live science, engineering and technology (SET) project, Go4Set will raise the pupils’ awareness and highlight the exciting future career opportunities in SET. Work related learning within an industrial enterprise context is at the core of the Go4Set experience. Pupils will benefit from personal development education, enhancing their powers of creativity and innovation. The UK needs to increase the number of pupils pursuing careers in Science, Engineering and Technology. Support from industry and business can make an important contribution to the future of Science, Engineering and Technology through inspiring the pupils to become involved at this key stage in their education. Research has shown that the exposure of younger age groups to businesses based on Science, Engineering and Technology encourages more students to choose post-16 courses in these subject areas, eventually leading to the study of SET degrees at university. Go4Set will empower young people to make informed decisions about their Key Stage 4/Standard Grade options particularly with regard to SET subjects and courses and stimulate their interest in these subjects. 2. The Engineering Development Trust (EDT) EDT is an independent registered charity whose mission is to encourage young people to fulfil their potential through careers in Science, Engineering and Technology. EDT is a leading national provider of work related learning programmes targeting 12-21 year olds, bringing companies and universities together with schools and students to work on real projects. EDT comprises 4 programme: Go4Set, Engineering Education Scheme (England and Scotland), Headstart and The Year in Industry. All EDT schemes are members of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Best Programme. 15 March 2010  |
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