Better Learners Better Workers - BLBW

Yesterday 70 Better Learners Better Workers (BLBW) Ambassadors took part in an Army team building day at Wentworth Woodhouse with The Royal Yorkshire Regiment. Students from different schools and Colleges came together to take part in a variety of exciting challenges and activities.
Throughout the day, they learned many important skills, including teamwork, communication, leadership, and problem-solving. Working together with students from other schools helped them to build confidence and make new friends. Every challenge required them to cooperate, listen to each other, and support their teammates.
The soldiers from The Royal Yorkshire Regiment showed students different army skills and encouraged them to do their best. We were also pleased that Hilary Chapman HM Lord Lieutenant and Professor Keith Jackson CEng CDir Master Cutler & Mistress Cutler joined us and spoke to students throughout the day.
At the end of the day, prizes were given to the ‘Best team player’, ‘Overall student’ and ‘Winning team’, presented by HM The Lord Lieutenant.
It was an enjoyable and rewarding event that helped students develop valuable life skills while having fun and working together.
Thanks to everyone who came along to support 👏🏻

Take a look at our latest case study for Better Learners Better Workers - BLBW programme, which features Jake Newlove, a former BLBW ambassador.
We are so proud of Jake and how he is progressing in his career.

Hollie Clark The Company of Cutlers

This week brought two site visits for our Ambassadors.

Firstly King Edwards VII School visited Willmott Dixon's latest project on Fargate.
The £14.4m transformation of Event Central, a landmark project that will repurpose a former retail building into a fabulous music venue and office workspace.

Secondly Sir Thomas Wharton Academy visited VINCI Building UK's site at Doncaster Royal infirmary.

This is a new state on the art Critical care unit due for completion early Jan 2027. The new department will feature 22 beds in patient bays designed for critically ill patients, technology, a reception area, family room, waiting space, on-site pharmacy and be staffed by critical care specialists.

These opportunities are so important for young people giving them a chance to see what a real working construction site is like. It helped students understand the wide range of jobs available in the construction industry, which they could experience and imagine while walking around the site.

Thank you to Rowan Todd. and all the Willmott Dixon team that helped organise and run the site visits.

Thank you to Oliver Kneale and all the VINCI Building UK team that helped organise and run the site visits.

We appreciate your support greatly!

Good luck to all Primary students starting their SAT’s , and to Y11 Secondary starting their GCSE’s tomorrow
You got this!

We wanted to say well done to one of our former BLBW Ambassadors, Sophie from Sir Thomas Wharton Academy and also to Ava for both being fabulous 👏🏻

Ava and Sophie each created and delivered impressive manifestos and speeches at last night’s Youth Council Conference in order to gain votes for election. 🗳

We are thrilled to announce that both students were not only successful, but each secured two significant positions.

Ava has been elected as Vice Chair of Doncaster Youth Council and will also serve as a South Yorkshire Youth Combined Authority Representative.

Sophie has also been elected as a South Yorkshire Youth Combined Authority Representative and will take on the role of Chair of the Doncaster Youth Council Steering Group.

Both students have shown unwavering dedication and commitment throughout this process, and these achievements are thoroughly deserved! We are incredibly proud of them and look forward to seeing the positive impact they will make in their new roles as they continue to work with youth authorities within the locality!

Thankyou to Norsk Hydro and Senior Architectural Systems for working with our students again.
It is fantastic that we get these opportunities to visit real life work places and the students to see first hand all the different jobs and industries available to them.
Thankyou to everyone involved.

Last week, our Ambassadors from Hinde House School welcomed Keely Whitehead, HR & Finance Manager at Straaltechniek UK Ltd for an inspiring visit.

Keely shared her personal journey into engineering, giving students a valuable insight into her role and the wider industry. She also introduced the concept of engineering apprenticeships, highlighting the variety of pathways available to young people after leaving school.

Following the talk, students took part in a team-building challenge where they were tasked with designing and constructing a structure capable of holding a textbook. This activity encouraged them to collaborate effectively, think creatively, and carefully consider how their designs would function in practice.

It was a fantastic opportunity for students to develop key skills while gaining real-world insight into engineering careers.

Thank you to Keely for coming in and to all at Straaltechniek for your continued support 👏🏼

Yesterday our Ambassadors from Sheffield Park Academy took part in a workshop delivered by Charles Turner MBE DL from Durham Duplex.

The workshop was designed to teach the students about the running of your own business and the many aspects involved.
Including running costs, buying more materials, equipment and the affects staff absences have on production.

They also learnt about the affect of increase and decrease in the price of selling your product and its affect on running your business.

The student's were split into three teams and handed a starter pack, and had the rules of the game explained to them.

They then had to come up with a way to run their business in a cost affective way through maximising production whilst trying to keep running costs down in order to not get into financial difficulty.

The winning team finished with a £100 profit margin and took away the prize for the days activity 2 Boxes of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

Thank you to Charles and his team for your continued support.
😁

First day back today after the Easter break and we had a fantastic 'Meet the Employer Day' for our primary Ambassadors.

Giving our Maltby Learning Trust students a chance to explore the world of work and meet real professionals from around the communities 👏

A huge thank you to Joseph Bend from the WILDBORE VETERINARY LIMITED, Amy Wheatley from EQUANS and Paula Carter from Inicio Success Ltd, for spending time with us and sharing their experiences.

The students loved learning about different careers, asking questions, and discovering the skills needed for each role.

Opportunities like this help inspire our young learners and open their eyes to what they can achieve in the future 🌟