High School Rock!

Radio Rockz Challenge

Year 9 at Woking High really enjoyed the final part of their Radio Rockz challenge on Friday 27th April 2012.  Having received a creative brief, and a budget to work to, the students were challenged to design, record and present a radio advert to a panel of expert judges.  The judges certainly had their work cut out to choose their two favourite adverts as the hard work and effort that had gone into producing them was excellent.  Not only did the students have to design and present their advert, they also had to prove to the judges that they had worked well as a team, stuck to their budget and met their customers needs by ensuring their advert was aimed correctly at their target audience.  A taste of real working life!

The two lucky winning teams will be off to Eagle Radio soon to record their advert and get a tour of the studios.

The challenge was part of the Invest in Your Success programme organised by SATRO with funding from Woking Borough Council which has been enthusiastically taken up by local secondary schools - giving their students an opportunity to think about the future.

SMASHING TIME HAD DURING EGG DROP CHALLENGE!

Two Year 6 classes from Mychett Primary School took part in a Science Day on 23^rd April, learning about Gravity & Forces in a fun and practical way, utilising the making of parachutes and dropping eggs!

From the pupil’s comments on 'what did you learn today?'…

"How masses and aerodynamics effect the velocity of an object in motion."

"That you can accomplish everything if you try."

"I learnt that you don’t have to write and complete tests to learn and have fun.  Making models and investigating things is really fun."

Sounds like the day achieved its objectives!

Channel 4 Racing meets students!

With the going definitely soft, 30 Year 8 and 9 students from Broadwater School and Esher Church of England High School are splashing their way across the course at Sandown Racecourse this morning to start their Numeracy Day. They are looking forward to taking part in the SATRO organised British Horseracing Education and Standards Trust (BHEST). Time spent measuring the course and visiting the weighing room, talking to jockeys will 'add up' to a great day.  And the day will be recorded by Channel 4 Racing so the students can look forward to seeing themselves on the small screen.

And more eggs saved by Science!

SATRO held two full-day science workshops on Wednesday 25^th April at Wallace Fields Infants School to inspire young children about physics and the world around them.  A SATRO team of 5 experienced engineers worked with the individual classes, imparting their knowledge and encouraging the children think creatively and ‘have a go’.   60 Year 1 children experimented with floating and sinking to understand different properties of materials.  This was followed by a demonstration on waterwheels and the impact of a fast or slow rate of water flow.  The children used mini waterwheels with detachable vanes to carry out their own experiments.  Year 2 had a different challenge: what is gravity and how can you slow down the rate of descent?  They learnt how to make parachutes and then had the challenge of how to drop a raw egg without breaking it!  Under guidance from the experts the children made a protective carrier for the egg to suspend under their parachute; they then had great fun dropping the parachutes from a height.  The teachers reported that the day had been a great success and the children’s imagination's were buzzing!.

How to drop an egg!

On Monday 23^rd April 120 pupils from the Year 5 and 6 classes at Mytchett Primary School had a great day of science, exploring Forces, Gravity and Air Resistance.  Led by experienced volunteers  pupils experimented with spinners to work out the speed at which objects fall ; then had the chance to make parachutes of differing sizes to test which designs work best to slow down falling objects. 

The afternoon session saw them carefully thinking about using their knowledge from the morning to work in teams of 4/5 to make a cushioned basket to hold the egg beneath the parachute canopy.  Great excitement – and competitiveness – was generated as the teams launched their finished model from a designated height onto a target on the floor beneath.  Descents were timed and eggs checked for breakages at the end of each launch.  To the amazement of pupils and teachers, only 4 of the 26 eggs dropped showed signs of damage on inspection – obviously these budding engineers were up to the challenge!

SOARING LIKE AN EAGLE!

Year 9 students at Winston Churchill had an inspiring end to their first week back after Easter on Friday 20th when Peter Gordon of 96.4 Eagle Radio in Guildford was in school to give a stimulating talk about his approach to life and the many things he has done in his career. Peter Gordon, known on air as PG, is Programme Director and presenter of the breakfast show on 96.4 The Eagle. Born in Guildford and educated at Cranleigh School and the University of York where he began his career as a presenter on the student radio station. Starting his career in radio making tea, he joined the BBC as a feature presenter. Peter has been with The Eagle since its launch and was the first presenter to speak on the new station when it went on air on 4 January 1996.
The event was part of an innovative programme for Woking secondary schools – Invest in Your Success – organised by SATRO and funded by Woking Borough Council which has also included a Careers Day and a ‘Radio Rockz’ Challenge in which students learn how to produce a good radio jingle. 
The Invest in Your Success programme gives young people a great opportunity to think about their futures at a really crucial time.

All that hard work is worth it!

Its the end of another busy week here at SATRO - something different every day and we're all about ready to collapse in a heap! But we were just looking at all the wonderful feedback we have received from events this week and felt we had to share this from a Teacher at St Bartholemew's School
'What were the positive outcomes of the day?'
Teacher - 'Children highly motivated. The activity was not something they have ever experienced before, nor could we hope to provide it. The quality of the SATRO volunteers was superb. It was important that the children can relate their learning to the real world. SATRO always delivers high quality activities and this was no exception'.
Well that says it all really - off for a rest this weekend and back for another busy week next week - thanks as ever to our fabulous volunteers, we couldn't do it without you!

Budding Business at St Barts!

60 Year 6 children at St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School in Haslemere had a great day yesterday when they had the chance to set up and run companies, borrow money, buy and sell goods and deal with unexpected economic events when they took part in the SATRO Business Game.  Whistles were blown and the trading was fast and furious.  Winners in a high quality contest were  "The Epic Bananas". Well done!

And the school have a Fun Maths Day on the 3rd May to look forward to!

The going is soft to good at Kempton Racecourse!

Typical.  We are in the middle of a drought and just as 45 Year 8's and 9's head for Kempton Park - the heavens opened.  Students from Bishop Wand, Salesians and Glyn Technology College are making their way round the paddocks, some dressed in racing colours to apply mathematical skills in a real-life environment.  From looking at fence construction and angles of jumps to finding out about all the different jobs and roles at a racecourse.  Here's betting they have a great day at the SATRO Numeracy Event!

Action-Packed Summer Term

As schools start the long and busy summer term, SATRO are  ready for an equally busy time delivering a huge range of exciting activities and events.  This week kicks off with a Numeracy Day for 45 Year 8's and Year 9's  from Glyn Technology College, Salesians and Bishop Wand School at Kempton Park Race Course - a great place to learn about numbers! On Wednesday 18th, the first of the Junior Business Games takes place at St Bartholomews School in Haslemere with 60 Year 6 pupils.  And Friday sees all of Year 9 at Winston Churchill Secondary School hearing some inspiring and stimulating ideas from. Peter Gordon of Eagle Radio.

and much more next week!

6th formers have a difficult choice to make for where next

There has been a great deal of debate in the media recently about the new fees being charged by Universities, the levels of youth unemployment, and the future of the economy. Satro decided to find out how this was affecting young people in Surrey.

We surveyed 350 young people, from all areas of Surrey, aged between 17 and 19 and currently studying for A levels or AS levels. Our results indicate, that around a quarter of students attending Independent schools had thought more carefully about their future as a result of the introduction of University fees, but that despite this 100% of 6^th form students at Independent schools were still intending to go to University.

At state schools and colleges the story was somewhat different. Our survey results indicated that 24% of boys, and 10% of girls had decided not to go to University as a direct result of the introduction of higher fees. Of the rest, the vast majority had thought more carefully about their choices, and many indicated that they were worried about fees, and didn’t fully understand how the payments would work.

Of those students who had decided they would not go to University, most were intending to go straight into Employment or Apprenticeships – but all of them indicated that they were not really sure how to find vacancies. 


Satro is going to use this data to ensure that we're providing the best possible help and support to young people aged 17-19 to help them make these difficult choices.

Where are the jobs for young people in Surrey?

Recently Satro has been investigating the areas of Surrey’s economy that are projected to grow in the next few years in order to identify what opportunities there might be for young people in our region. We will be encouraging local businesses to consider taking on young people – and trying to find out if there any barriers to doing so.

We are currently carrying out a study of the Financial Services sector – which is a very strong sector in Surrey, with many small and medium-sized companies as well as larger, national, employers. We asked employers if they currently employed young people at ages 17-19 – or if they might consider doing so in the future.

Larger employers in the region tell us that they frequently have programmes in place to employ young people and train them, mostly using traditional apprenticeships in customer services or business administration. They told us that employing young people enables them to have flexibility, and brings in new ideas.

However, many smaller employers in the Financial Services sector said that they did not wish to employ young people – the main reason given was perceived poor employability skills in young people. This is a worrying perception, which means that many businesses which might benefit from the talents of our young people are missing out.

We would like to hear from other employers in the area in the Financial Services sector to find out if you are employing young people, or might consider doing so. Contact us on Beccy@satro.org.uk. 

Sensible stuff from slime!

The CHEMISTRY AT WORK  day held recently at Manorcroft School, Egham was a great opportunity for 400 keen budding chemists to meet real scientist from P&G, Air Products, University of Surrey and Royal Holloway. 

Children and staff got stuck into bath bombs, making slime ad good and bad bugs with the help of volunteer scientists working with SATRO and the 'real' scientists from the companies - a great way to find out  more about the working world of chemistry.

People in white coats were seen in the corridors and at least one pupil is looking forward to a career in Science! " I would love to do this and be a scientist and do lab stuff"

"We learnt all sorts of things - how to make moisturiser and how to make acid rain" (though hopefully not at the same time!

Creative Chemistry at Manorcroft School!

Have you ever wanted to  make silly putty?  Find out all about bees?  What happens to bananas in liquid nitrogen?  400 pupils of Manorcroft Primary School, Egham had the chance last week to get involved with chemistry.

It was  a CHEMISTRY AT WORK DAY organised by SATRO and The Royal Society of Chemistry on Wednesday 28 March 2012.

Activities were aimed at different ages and abilities and everyone got to try lots of different things.  The Periodic Table activity with biscuits proved one of the most popular – or perhaps it was just fun to eat them!  The comments from the pupils were wonderful and everybody - including the teachers - wished it could happen every day!

"I learnt that the air is made out of different chemicals and that different fruits make fragrances and that if you put flowers in liquid nitrogen they crumple up and sound like glass cracking"

"There is a lot of Science in the world" said one student  - there certainly is!

SATRO Fundraising Campaign Underway!

The arrival of our colourful and informative. Impact Report 2011 launches SATRO's new fundraising appeal.  There are lots of ways to support the work we do - check the website for ways to give.  Donations have already started to roll in from our supporters!