BUSINESS SPONSORS FOR TEENTECH SURREY 2013 - INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS

Who?

Institute of Directors, Surrey http://www.iod.com/connecting/local-networks/south/surrey

What?

The Surrey branch of the Institute of Directors has around 3,000 members from over 60 different industry sectors working in companies ranging from sole traders to national and global corporations. IoD Surrey organises an active programme of inspirational and value business events across the County. With more than 20% of the membership operating in the STEM arena, IoD Surrey wash instrumental in bringing Teen Tech to Surrey and is delighted to be sponsoring the event for the second year running.

So What?!

Janet Preston, IoD Surrey Education Liaison said: "With the current Government’s priorities shifting the balance of the UK economy towards manufacturing and engineering, the need for STEM graduates is acute. At the heart of this dilemma is the need to encourage students to pursue STEM GCSE and A levels - and Teen Tech is tailored made to help do this. It shows our young people that there are many and varied careers in science, engineering, technology and maths that are exciting; well-paid and just applicable to women as they are to men”.

BUSINESS SPONSORS FOR TEENTECH SURREY 2013 - SURREY CONNECTS

Who?
Surrey Connects http://www.surreyconnects.com/

What?
Surrey Connects is an independent, business-led economic development company working in partnership to stimulate enterprise growth across Surrey. We are champions of Smart Economic Growth and our aim is to increase the value of the economy and promote Surrey as a world-class economy. Together we share a vision of Surrey as a county where knowledge, creativity and innovation drive economic growth to improve prosperity and quality of life for all.

Surrey Connects believes that we need to innovate and create the jobs of tomorrow so that we maintain one of the best standards of living in the UK. However, the very things which make Surrey an attractive location in which to live and work are the same things which constrain its growth. Therefore, we have adopted a sustainable approach across all our activities. Smart Economic Growth is our strategy to drive economic growth through knowledge, innovation and creativity. It's about extracting ‘more for less’. It means using technology and innovative ways of working to increase productivity without damaging the quality of life or the environment in Surrey.

In our view, economic growth and sustainable development must go hand in hand in order to protect the quality of life for future generations as well as for today. Surrey Connects will optimise the potential of people, land, space and technology. Our strategy is about investing in skills and innovation to increase our productivity so that we can all share in the benefits of a strong, prosperous economy and a high quality of life.

As part of our strategy for Smart Economic Growth, Surrey Connects is delighted to be sponsoring Surrey TeenTech for the second year running.

So What?!
Mark Pearson, CEO Surrey Connects said: 'It is critical that Surrey's future generations of entrepreneurs, innovators and business leaders are shown what is on offer to them across the vast array of businesses that are already based in the Surrey area. And it is vital that we continue as the current generation of business leaders to provide the opportunities to the younger generations and this is why we are delighted to be supporters of TeenTech Surrey.'

BUSINESS SPONSORS FOR TEENTECH SURREY 2013 - CBSBUTLER

Who?
CBSbutler http://www.cbsbutler.com/

What?
In 2013 CBSbutler is the Headline Sponsor for the Surrey TeenTech event, having first supported it in 2012. In addition they have been providing headline support to SATRO’s Summer Festival of Science for several years – in total therefore they are enabling over 800 young people a year to be inspired by science, technology, engineering and maths.

CBSbutler is a specialist recruitment company which covers the complete spectrum of technical and functional job disciplines for engineering, manufacturing and technology-based organisations. A comprehensive range of recruitment services is offered including contract/temporary staffing, contingency permanent recruitment, retained search and selection, and managed services/RPO. In addition the company offers a range of complementary and value-added services including; testing and assessment, training and coaching for hiring managers and professional guidance on legal/employment matters. The company caters for all levels of experience from apprenticeships and graduates, through to a wide range of blue and white collar grades, and finally senior management and executive positions. Today CBSbutler serves a diverse range of organisations from blue-chip multi-nationals, to high growth SMEs together with a wide geographical reach including EU, USA, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia and Far East.

So What?!
David Leyshon, Managing Director, CBSbutler said: “ If we are to stand any chance in addressing the growing shortages in UK engineers and scientists it is vital that we first address things at grass roots level. High profile events and stimulating challenges are invaluable in building young peoples’ enthusiasm and interest in STEM, and in doing so influencing their subject and career choices. That is why CBSbutler is such a passionate supporter of charity organisations such as SATRO and TeenTech.”

MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND

IMA Maths Careers are working with the Citi Money Gallery at the British Museum and asking you to design a currency for Earth as part of 2013: Mathematics of Planet Earth. You must produce an A4 poster to pitch your idea for a single global currency to the 'Bank of planet Earth'. Prizes will be awarded to the best design in each age category!

The closing date for entries to the competition is midnight on 15th January, 2014. Entries received after that date will not be accepted, displayed or judged.

Click here for more details.

TO GIFT OR NOT TO GIFT...

...that is the question! After grilling the teachers at senior, junior and nursery schools, in both the private and state sectors, to find out what they really covet at Christmas time, The Good Schools Guide have composed a 'top ten gifts for teachers'. From Gift cards to potted plants, The Good Schools Guide have concluded that home-made cards showing a child's true appreciation will be far more treasured by their teacher than a 'World's Greatest Teacher' mug!

Top Ten Gifts For Teachers

1. Anything home-made
2. Booze
3. A potted plant
4. Gift tokens
5. Christmas tree decorations
6. Chocolates
7. Organise a collection
8. Something ethnic
9. Compose a poem or a song
10. Note Cards

SUMMER SCHOOL 2014 IN THE US!

8 A's at GCSE and in year 12? First in your family to go to Uni? Sponsored one week summer school in US available.

The Sutton Trust US programme provides bright, state school students a taste of life at an American university. The programme is centred on a one week summer school in the US (based at either MIT, Yale University or Harvard, our new host campus) with introductory events and application support in the UK before and after.

Applications for the 2014 Programme are now open!

Click here for details.

MERRY #CHRISTMAS FROM SATRO!

ON THE RIGHT TRACK WITH MATHS

KS3 students at Reigate School tested their maths skills when they participated in a Jaguar Cars 'Maths in Motion' challenge. Using bespoke software to calibrate a virtual racing car, the teams had to calculate measurements of distance, angles and speed potential of a race track in order to program their racing car for optimum performance. Teamwork played a vital part in calculating the right formula for success. The challenge reached its climax with the teams competing in a Grand Prix style race. Students and teachers agreed that the workshop was an exciting and practical way in which to consolidate maths skills linked to the real world.

"It shows that maths isn't all sums and it can be helpful in real life situations. It also shows it's really important," commented a student.

Thanks to Mr Peter Lambell, former SCC Councillor, who sponsored this event.

Lingfield Numeracy Day

45 students from Blenheim High, Reigate and Oxted Schools were at Lingfield seeing how maths is used in the real world. In this case, a racecourse on raceday. Ex-jockey Olly McPhail showed them the weighing room, parade ring and jumps. And entertained them with stories from when he raced.

SCIENCE ALL WRAPPED UP

150 Year 3 pupils at Ravenscote Junior School in Frimley enjoyed an investigation science workshop discovering the properties of materials. As an introduction to a Packaging Challenge, the children had to identify the different properties of materials and think about how those materials are used in everyday life. They looked at various types of product packaging and then made their own box to wrap up a meringue nest choosing from a selection of protective materials; to test their choice of packaging, the boxes were sent through a simulated postal system. The children then re-opened their box to discover if their packaging had been successful - of the 150 meringues, there was a 95% unbroken success rate.

One teacher commented, “A great session! Very engaging, the children loved it and it put learning into a real life context.”

"I feel more confident and understanding about science and I would like to be a scientist when I am older," said a pupil, and another remarked, "It has made me feel confident and if I become a postman I will make sure not to smash the packaging."

This event was sponsored by Surrey County Councillor Mr David Ivison. SATRO and the school are very grateful for his support.

THE SATRO SNOWDON CHALLENGE 2014

On 27th & 28th June 2014, The SATRO Snowdon Challenge will be taking place! This is a great overnight event for all to enjoy the fresh air and superb views of Snowdonia National Park. Snowdon is the second highest mountain in England and Wales at 3560ft (1085m).

The paths up Snowdon take approximately 5 to 6 hours return up and down and no previous hill walking experience is needed, although you should have a reasonable level of general fitness.

Sign up here and get yourself sponsored to earn SATRO funds!

What’s My Line comes to Gordon’s

90 year 12 students at Gordon’s School in West End Woking got to meet a huge variety of business professionals last Friday during a frantic 1½ hours of ‘Careers Speed Dating’. We had scientists, engineers, both civil and structural, chartered accountants, lawyers, a software developer, a patent attorney, a Press & Marketing Manager, a Creative Learning Manager, a Chief Petty Officer, two PhD students studying Virology & Immunology, a Doctor, a Book Publisher, a Management Consultant, and several representatives from the Police covering counter terrorism, forensics & a chief inspector, all of whom were passionate and enthusiastic about their chosen careers.

The students were put into small groups and had 5 minutes to quiz their ‘business volunteer’, who was only allowed to answer yes or no thereby requiring the students to try & guess their professions. A further 5 minutes of frantic questioning followed to ascertain exactly what they did for a living, and how they had got where they were. A whistle sounded and another willing business volunteer from a different profession presented themselves for questioning.

It was fast frenetic and enormous fun with the students commenting afterwards, ”I was astonished by the range of different career choices available that I didn’t know about”, and “I learned you must do something you enjoy, everyone in the world is clever in some way”. Additionally many of the students felt that with the right attitude & experience anything is possible and many commented, “This was a fantastic event and should be offered to all schools.”

Year 8 Construction, Engineering and Design Challenge

Jeremy Owen and SATRO volunteers, Martin James, Jenny Warhurst and Jude Edwardes, worked with 72 Year 8 students from a number of schools. Hosted by Sir William Perkins's School in Chertsey, the students learnt about basic engineering and design and building their own structures - which were then tested with heavy weights. An engineer from the Tony Gee and partners gave a presentation to the students on bridges.

Marketing Challenge - Raising Awareness to prevent terrorism

There are many ways of supporting young people who may be vulnerable to violent extremism. The Government's Prevent Strategy aims to work with communities and institutions such as schools and colleges to raise awareness of the risks and support the victims of extremism activity. As part of this strategy Surrey Police worked with SATRO to develop a Marketing Challenge for 6th form students, sponsored by David Munro, Chairman of Surrey County Council and held at County Hall on Monday 18 November.

Eight teams of 6th form students from Surrey Schools and Colleges took part and having thoroughly researched the topic spent the day fine tuning their presentations. Support was on hand throughout the day from the Crime Prevent Team and Jonathan King, a Marketing expert. The teams were required to prepare a 5 minute PowerPoint presentation showcasing the various methods they would use to communicate their message, thereby raising awareness with their target market, their peers.

The judging panel were hugely impressed with both the quality and content of all the presentations and it was a closely fought contest. Heated debate amongst the judges resulted in Rosebery School taking first place, closely followed by the team from Priorsfield with Fulbrook taking 3rd place. However ideas generated by the other five schools and colleges taking part may well also be turned into reality by the Crime Prevent team.

As the students feedback shows this was a serious topic which struck a chord with all who attended. "Better education about extremism for young people is vital if we are to raise awareness and aid prevention", " Terrorism comes in many more forms than I previously anticipated and there are many solutions that could be implemented to help raise awareness in schools.", "I learnt so much more about terrorism and how to create an effective campaign," "It felt like a real project which will be taken on board." The final words of the day go to Lee Sawkins, the Prevent Coordinator Specialist crime command and Head Judge, " This was a fantastic event which exceeded expectations in terms of support and outcomes. I am really enthused about working with young people and would recommend to colleagues."

TEENTECH INSPIRES IN SURREY

TeenTech Surrey is over for another year – but what a day we had! Over 300 year 8 and 9 children took part in an event involving more than 30 different companies employing scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians. All combined to make a fairly mind-blowing experience!

We know the students really enjoyed the day and that it made a huge difference:

·         In the morning 47% were fairly or very interested in becoming a scientist compared to 70% at the end of the day

·         In the morning 37% were fairly or very interested in becoming an engineer compared to 63% at the end of the day

·         52% arrived thinking that people working in STEM were clever interesting and well paid compared to 74 % who left the event feeling that way

So a very significant shift in attitudes, which is what we are trying to achieve!

TeenTech is a collaborative event and we were proud to work with TeenTechCIC and many local and national sponsors. As a result of the huge success of yesterday’s event, and schools now clamouring to book their place for next year, we are busy making plans for another event next November - TeenTech CIC and Satro are really looking forward to continuing our work together – and having another bumper event in 2014. Watch this space!

A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO MATHS

KS2 pupils at St Lawrence Primary School in Effingham were challenged to find new ways of problem-solving when they participated in a Fun Maths workshop. Using this novel way to cover a wide range of maths concepts, the children had the chance to test existing knowledge and learn new skills. These incorporated Thinking, Talking and Reasoning, as well as Team-Working. The teachers noted that the children were deploying different strategies to solve problems and that teamwork was essential. As one pupil commented: “It was good to work in partners because some people have different abilities.”

Inspiring tomorrow’s innovators today
TeenTech returns to the Surrey!
TeenTech® , the award winning industry-led initiative aimed to inspire the next generation of scientists and technologists, has returned to Surrey today for the second year running. SATRO is proud to be running the event again which is being held at Surrey Sports Park, part of the University of Surrey.
Over 300 school students aged 12-13 from the South East of England are spending the day with scientists and engineers from some of the world’s leading companies – including P&G, JVC, Samsung, BOC and Virgin Media - giving them the unique opportunity to do hands-on experiments and learn more from those at the top of their field. This year the students have the opportunity to see a planet show in an inflatable mobile planetarium, programme robots, solve a forensics crime scene, run a production line, become a virus detective, or create some digital art amongst many other exciting projects.
TeenTech® is the brainchild of co-founders Maggie Philbin (BBC Tomorrow’s World) and Chris Dodson, OBE, Institute of Directors (IoD). It was founded in 2008 to enable young people to understand their true potential and to realise the many doors that can be opened for them through embarking on a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) career path.
Maggie Philbin, CEO of TeenTech comments: “It is important for companies to be actively involved in helping young people and their teachers understand what the real opportunities are in their industries, and the skills needed to take advantage of them. The commitment shown by all the companies participating is fantastic, showing how they are taking this responsibility seriously. It is not enough to moan about the skills shortage, we need to actively change the current perceptions held by teenagers and their parents about the future employment possibilities in the region."

Research conducted in last year’s event shows a shift in the participants’ attitude toward careers in science and engineering. When asked at the end of the day compared to the start if they would consider a career in science, there was a marked increase from 51% to 81% saying yes. Similarly with engineering this increase was from 48% to 79%. Watch this blog for the results of today’s event!

SCIENCE FLOATS THEIR BOAT

Years 1 and 2 pupils at Prior Heath Infant School had an exciting day of exploration on 11th November: workshops on Floating and Sinking and electric circuits in Lighthouses were delivered by the SATRO team. Year 1 experimented with a variety of objects to test the different properties of floating and sinking; boats were crafted from aluminium foil and weights were added to investigate the Archimedes principle. Year 2 learnt about the components of a simple electric circuit and used this knowledge to build a lighthouse with a flashing light. The teachers were pleased with the outcomes of the day, agreeing that it increased the pupils’ knowledge of science and provided an opportunity for team-work. The children enjoyed a positive learning experience and some commented that they would like to be an engineer or scientist when they grow up.

We are grateful to Councillor David Ivison who sponsored this event.

GLOBAL TRADING GAME PROVOKES THOUGHT...

60 year 4, 5 & 6 pupils from St James' Primary School in Elstead had a harsh lesson on 6th November, quickly realising that global trading is deeply unfair!

The children were broken down into two groups of six countries representing rich/emerging & poor countries of the world and tried to generate wealth for their ‘countries’ by making paper shapes which had a currency they could then bank. The poor countries had lots of raw materials (paper) but no technology and the rich countries had all the technology but limited raw materials. The rich countries quickly began manufacturing but were unwilling to trade their technology for the raw materials they needed thereby ensuring the poor countries remained poor. It evoked some wonderful thinking and comments from the pupils... "I learnt that you have to think about he trade before you do it. Fairtrade will make sure that people who are poor will get some money, I loved the game!" and, "I learnt that we should trade more fairly so that some children go to bed with a full stomach and that if we work fairly we will probably all have the same amount of money and hopefully that will mean there will be no more wars."

A de-brief following the game highlighted the plight of the cocoa farmers in Ghana and the fact that out of a £1 bar of chocolate the farmers only receive 7p with the rest going to the two Governments in tax, the manufacturers and the retailers which the children thought was deeply unfair.

A powerful and thought provoking game for all concerned.

NUFFIELD RESEARCH PLACEMENT CELEBRATION EVENING

Esher College hosted a real Celebration of student’s work once again on 22 October. The annual Nuffield Research Placement Scheme’s display and celebration of the summer projects was held for the last time with all 46 students researchers talking about their placements to some 100 visitors. The Vice-Chair of Surrey County Council attended along with special guest Mark Havler from Surrey Wildlife Trust, who spoke about the importance of students participating in fieldwork and collecting data. Surrey Wildlife Trust had certainly benefitted over the years from their work and hopefully this can continue. Mark has personally supervised many students over the years – this year, 6 students completed project with his help and support. SATRO Patron Jon Tickle expressed his admiration for the standard of work achieved by the students which, he said, was of an even higher standard than last year! Many students are contributing to publications through their supervisors, who have said that they prefer a month of a Nuffield students to a year’s work from an undergraduate!

Michael Overy from Epsom and Ewell High School, and Hannah Banks from Tiffin Girls School were presented with a certificate for best project for 2013. All students received the Gold CREST Award!

Building Strong Foundations

An opportunity to build stronger links with their local school was offered to parents at St Peter’s RC Primary School when SATRO delivered a Mega-Structures Challenge on 21st October. An novel evening activity it brought together parents and their children in an exciting construction workshop, in which mixed teams had to design and build a shelter large enough to accommodate at least 3 of the teams members. The challenge provided a unique opportunity for children – and their parents – to develop skills in communication, planning, design and teamwork. 11 teams involving some 65 participants created different shaped structures made out of rolled paper sticks. The event was supported by a volunteer from Atkins Global plc, Peter Walbridge, who gave a short introduction on his job as a civil engineer. Great fun was had by all and the teachers were delighted with the outcomes and overall success of the evening. Many positive comments were received at the end of the workshop:

”It was fun way of learning about engineering and also we all learnt to work as a team” - parent
“It made me want to become an engineer” – pupil

Brightening the Science Curriculum

Year 1 and Year 2 pupils at Heather Ridge Infant School had an illuminating day of science, in which simple circuits were incorporated in lighthouse models and different objects were tested for their floating or sinking properties. The pupils were introduced to new concepts which developed their creative thinking, fault-finding and practical skills. The children learnt a lot during the day and the teachers were pleased with the knowledge and enthusiasm of the SATRO team.

This event was funded through the generous support of Cllr David Ivison.

Maths Wizards Take Shape at The Duke of Kent School

Three days of Fun Maths took place at the Duke of Kent School in Ewhurst.  On the first two days classes from Years 4 through to Year 10 undertook the challenge to complete as many puzzles as possible within a time limit.  The third day was an Open Day for the school so parents and children combined their talents to solve the mathematical tasks.  All sessions were well received and presented an opportunity for the participants to test their knowledge and develop new skills. 

Comments included: “Now I really like maths thanks to you”;  “It made me think outside the box… it was a good challenge”;  “It was very good to do some maths with my son and enjoy it!”

Teams ready to go on the Cisco Red Button Challenge

Friday 18 October - teams from nine schools were briefed on the challenge at Cisco’s offices at Bedfont Lakes. They will spend the next five months working with Cisco mentors on their apps before returning to have them judged – generous prizes await the winners. Derek Nottingham spoke about the importance of STEM and arts subjects. Pete Rai, also from Cisco, encouraged teams to include some programming. Three teams unable to attend will be briefed this week and meet their mentors after half term.

FEELING THE FORCE OF SCIENCE

SATRO’s engineering volunteers were out in full force when they visited Reigate Priory Junior School. All 660 pupils experienced a practical, informative workshop which provided them with an opportunity to investigate new skills. Ranging from “Is packaging fit for purpose?” to “How does an electric circuit works?”, the children learnt lots of new ideas from the experts.

Teachers were delighted with the activities: “[pupils] had to use investigative skills – a very good challenge”; “What a fantastic day! Both children and teacher learnt lots whilst having fun”

Children’s comments included: “It has improved my confidence about science” “it has inspired me to do more at home” “I learnt to keep on trying if it does not work first time”

This two day event was kindly sponsored by Councillor Peter Lambell.

Pole Position for SATRO!

We were delighted to be joined by over 20 innovators and entrepreneurs this morning at a Business Breakfast hosted by Mclaren at their stunning headquarters in Woking.

With the support of David Munro, Chair of Surrey County Council, SATRO presented our work to a dynamic and enthusiastic audience. We were all then treated to a tour of the historic championship cars and trophies. Thanks to all who took part – next stop, Monaco!

A-Maze-ing Maths

The new academic year got off to an amazing start with a Fun Maths workshop at Cordwalles Junior School. Working with all KS2 pupils, 190 in total, the SATRO team delivered 3 separate sessions during the day, in which the children were challenged to a variety of mathematical puzzles. The pupils were paired to give them a team-working experience; this enabled them to communicate and share their knowledge with each other. We introduced a completely new set of puzzles which incorporated some different aspects of maths, such as time and measurement of length – this was well received by teachers and pupils alike, with the following comments:

“Really good activities which are good for the children’s teamwork skills. We were all amazed to see the children engaged for so long” - teacher

I feel “really happy because it was so fun and amazing, it taught me to like maths” - Year 3 pupil

Awards for the County’s Brightest and Best

Skilled and talented young people from across Surrey, together with their parents and sponsors, gathered at County Hall, Kingston-upon-Thames for the 12th annual Surrey County Scholars and Surrey County Apprentices organised by SATRO: www.satro.org.uk. Awards including trophies, certificates and cash prizes were presented to students by Dr Helen Bowcock, DL, High Sheriff and Mr Paul Coleman, DL, Coleman Charitable Trust.

One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the John Coleman Trophy to the overall winning apprentice, Chris Bowman. Chris attends Brooklands College and is employed by Paramount Precision Engineering where he is involved in 3D modelling techniques.

Two other Trophies were also awarded to Apprentices in recognition of their dedication and commitment. The Wates Cup was awarded to Ryan Crook who is undertaking an apprenticeship in Advanced Fibrous Plastering with George Jackson Ltd and attends NESCOT.

The Gordon Cockburn Trophy was awarded to Mark Pokorny who is employed by Southern Railway and currently working on his final project for a National Diploma in electrical and electronic engineering at East Surrey College.

Surrey County Council Leader, David Hodge, said: "Apprenticeships are good for business and a successful career. Our aim by next April is to give 500 young people the leg up they need to find work at a difficult time and provide employers with the skilled workforce they require to thrive."

Eight of the County’s brightest and best Scholars were awarded bursaries to enable them to study science and engineering at university and to open up exciting career opportunities with leading Surrey-based companies.

Paying tribute to all of the nominated students and scholars, the High Sheriff, Dr Helen Bowcock, DL, said, “The students receiving these awards are a fantastic example of what our young people can achieve and we should all be extremely proud of them.”

MENTORING SCHEME SUCCESS!

12 schools participated in SATRO’s Mentoring Scheme during the last academic year, with a total 157 mentor/mentee pairings.

Their feedback from the scheme has been compiled, and, 80% of the participants that responded found it helpful to have a mentor and 94% would recommend having a mentor to other students.

When asked what the best thing about having a mentor was, responses were:

• It’s someone to talk to and it does help
• It helped me think clearly about school, exams, etc
• It’s nice to have someone to talk to about school work and problems
• It’s good fun and very useful
• Having someone to encourage me
• They are not teachers so you don’t have to talk to them about just school work
• Being able to have a mentor that understands
• Keeps me on track
• Getting told about different career paths I could choose
• It gives you someone to talk to and gives you the experience of talking to a new person

Mentors reported that it helped them understand young people better, and helped them develop a better understanding of the education system and helped them give something back to the community. They feel that the company benefits by being seen to support the local community and fulfilling Corporate Social Responsibility requirements.

If you want to learn more about Mentoring opportunities, please contact Liz Edwardes via liz@satro.org.uk

CHAPTERS FINANCIAL - BUSINESS BENEFITS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Who?

Chapters Financial was established in 2004 in Guildford, Surrey, and have over quarter of a century of experience in the financial services industry, dealing in a range of areas to provide you with a wealth of knowledge. They have chosen to maintain an independent status (IFA) to ensure that they can offer you a bespoke service, whether looking at your overall financial planning, new plans or reviewing your existing arrangements. Chapters Financial Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Registration number: 402899).

They are a Chartered Financial Planners. This means they have satisfied rigorous criteria relating to professional qualifications and ethical good practice. It means you can be confident that you are dealing with one of the UK’s leading firms that is wholly committed to providing you with the best possible financial planning advice, service and support.

What?
Support Headway and Guildford Shakespeare Company; have taken on two Apprentices.

So What?!
An apprentice brings; youthful energy, fresh thinking, enthusiasm, social media and IT skills and they are keen to take work on and progress, which provides you with time to concentrate on your company.

Also, supporting charitable organisations within our local community is vital to us in ensuring that the fabric of our community remains robust.

Click here for website.

MBH PARTNERSHIP - BUSINESS BENEFITS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Who?

MBH Partnership based in West Byfleet and backed by a highly professional team of Architects, Designers and support staff, MBH is a Fast Track Design based multi-disciplined Practice covering all areas of construction work. In 2010 we celebrated 50 years as a Practice at the forefront of what we do.

Lead by two Partners with over 50 years experience in the industry, MBH takes pride in working closely with clients at every stage of a project. MBH personnel bring expertise, experience, and professionalism, at all levels, to provide services tailored to individual requirements.

What?
Over the years MBH have taken on over 12 Apprentices all of whom have been sponsored through college day release plus 2 members of staff and the Principal Partner have volunteered as mentors to students in Years 10/11 in Guildford schools. As mentors they meet with their mentees every 2-3 weeks for 30-45 minutes – giving help advice and guidance on planning for the future, opportunities for careers or further study, interpersonal issues, planning revision and exams, etc.

So What?!
“I truly believe that apprenticeships and day release in our industry leads to better Architect Technologists and opportunities to those, like me, who chose not to go to university. Mentoring helps us get our message across to schools and helps pupils see that there is a alternative route to success”, Andrew Murrin – Principal Partner of MBH Partnership, Mentor and High School drop out!

http://www.mbhpship.com/

TONY GEE - BUSINESS BENEFITS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Who?
Tony Gee is a firm of specialist consulting engineers, renowned for:

• solving complex engineering challenges for clients in the construction industry
• providing innovative permanent works design
• construction methodology and temporary works solutions

What?

Employ several Apprentices and Higher Apprentices, sponsor students through Satro’s Scholars Bursary programme to provide funding for them to study Science and Engineering degrees at University.

So What?!

"Tony Gee and Partners LLP selected me to be a Surrey County Scholar, throughout my time at university Tony Gee were very supportive and each summer I worked 12 weeks in their head office in Surrey. After graduating with a First Class Honours in Civil Engineering I took up employment with Tony Gee. Without their help and financial support I don’t think I would be where I am today. The scholarship provided job security and allowed me to continue my degree without having to use up valuable time looking for another position". Tony Gee employee (former Bursary student).

www.tonygee.com

WILLMOTT DIXON - BUSINESS BENEFITS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Who?
Willmott Dixon is one of the UK’s largest privately-owned capital works, regeneration and support service companies.

In capital works, they work with government, local authority and private sector clients, delivering capital projects in education, justice, commercial offices, retail, health and social housing. They also deliver interior design and fit-out on one-off projects or rolling programmes of refurbishment and brand renewal.

In Regen, they develop complex mixed-tenure projects, often in joint venture with developers, local authorities and RSLs. In support services, they deliver a range of planned, preventative and responsive care to property, which includes maintaining 120,000 homes across the UK and providing a fast efficient service to a number of commercial brands.

Their family values and respect for people has seen the business achieve numerous accolades as one of the best places to work in construction, including being the only contractor included in the prestigious Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list for the past four years.

What?
In 2012 22 Willmott Dixon staff gave a total of 229 hours reaching 3780 young people. In addition, by participating in the Three Peaks Challenge 30 members of staff raised a staggering £30,605 towards purchase and fitting out of two Mobile Classrooms teaching construction skills to disaffected young people.

So What?!
Roger Forsdyke, Operations Director, Willmott Dixon said: “Each year we look to choose a charity that has close links to the company and our staff and Satro struck us as a great choice. The charity itself is closely aligned to our own vision to inspire young people to pursue careers in industries they wouldn’t necessarily think of. We strive as a company to have a positive impact on the communities around us and believe that working with young people is one of the best ways of doing this.”

Click here for Willmott Dixon website.

ALLIANZ - BUSINESS BENEFITS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Who?

Allianz Insurance employs over 4000 people across a network of 20 offices in the UK and the company’s Head Office is situated in Guildford, Surrey. Allianz Insurance is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz SE Group, one of the leading integrated financial services providers worldwide and the largest property and casualty insurer in the world.

What?

Through our community support programme Allianz:

• Support charities and voluntary initiatives in the community that are relevant to our business objectives and brand values
• Increase financial contributions through company donations, employee fundraising and payroll giving;
• In 2012, 27 Allianz staff gave a total of 202 hours of time to support and inspire 1005 young people in Surrey via SATRO mentoring programmes, Junior and Senior Business Games, Global Trading Game and Careers Speed dating. Allianz have subsidised several SATRO events and have supported SATRO’s growth through its ‘Routes to Success’ Employee Leadership programme by developing a new database system for the charity.

So What?!

“Working with SATRO gives our employees the opportunity to get involved in a variety of events including facilitating at business games, attending careers workshops and mentoring. All of these programmes benefit both the students and the business volunteers. Mentoring in particular is a great way to develop new or potential new leaders as it helps develop communication, coaching and listening skills - and, it is also very rewarding”. Valerie Robinson, Allianz Community Affairs Advisor.

Click here to view the Allianz website.

'A' LEVEL SUCCESS!

This morning’s figures from Ucas show that a record number of students have been accepted onto their university courses; 385,910 secured a place, up 9% on last year. This is despite the fact that there has been a slight dip in top marks awarded for the second year in a row.

SATRO’s very own Jennie, who has been working for us during the holidays for two years now, has attained the excellent results required to get her into her first choice university to study Psychology. Well done Jennie!

SATRO'S ON THE MOVE!

As the sun goes down on the beautifully located SATRO office in Send - welcome to the new dynamic, technology rich Research Park office!

As of Monday 29^th July 2013 SATRO’s NEW ADDRESS and contact details are:

Unit 23 |Surrey Technology Centre |40 Occam Road |Surrey Research Park|Guildford |GU2 7YG

Tel:  01483 688 070      
Fax: 01483 573 704



g3 £££ RAISING PADDLERS!

g3baxi participated in the 13th Annual Rotary Dragon Boat Challenge at Canbury Gardens, Kingston on Sunday 21st July, and very kindly donated £400 of their sponsorship money to SATRO. John Evans, Risk and Safety Manager at G3bxp, penned this thank you note to all who took part in the fundraising...

"Thanks to everyone for a marvellous day out yesterday.  Arun has asked me to pen a few words on his behalf, so I will start by thanking him for suggesting the idea and putting so much effort and encouragement to us all to bring the team together.   Thanks to all of you for turning up for the training.

Additional thanks are of course due to g3 associates and family, who bolstered the team so that it could achieve full strength on the day.  Without you we would have – not been a full crew! The non-paddling family members had a really important role in providing gazebo security, but more so in making the paddling picnic a very convivial place.  It would have been nice to just occupy the gazebo and not to race at all.

To the water then.  On the day, we were one of the 5 most consistently fast teams, our efforts beating the London Welsh rugby club team on our 3^rd outing.  As you know, 0.05 seconds separated us from a  place in the final, but though it is nice to try one’s hardest, it is not about that – the main result is that currently, with Gift Aid, we have raised nearly £800 for SATRO and RNLI, which is also an impressive result!  Well done everyone and please thank your family and friends – yes all of them, until we find out who the Anonymous donors are!"

With Best Wishes,

John Evans 


g3baxi partnership limited team



 

SCORCHING SUCCESS FOR SCIENCE

SATRO Volunteer Graham Manly
demonstrating the Egg Drop Challenge
at Leatherhead Trinity School

The heat is on to raise the profile of STEM subjects and the last two weeks of the Summer Term has seen a succession of exciting SATRO science events taking place across the county:  science days at the Connaught Junior School in Bagshot and Leatherhead Trinity School; a water rockets day at Eastwick Infant/Junior School; a dedicated space day at Broadwater School in Godalming attended by Dr Helen Sharman, amongst other luminaries; Mega-Structures challenges at The Greville Primary School, Ashtead, Therfield School in Leatherhead and Glyn School in Epsom.  A total of 1445 students have participated in a SATRO STEM-based activity during July - a resounding success for bringing science to life for young people.

SATRO has been fortunate in receiving sponsorship for some of the above events.  We acknowledge the generous support from the following:

• ExxonMobil, Leatherhead
• Surrey County Councillors:  Mrs Clare Curran, Mr Tim Hall and Mr Chris Townsend

Some children's comments on how they felt about STEM after the activities:

"Great and happy and makes me want to learn more about science!"

"Before today, I thought engineering was all really hard work and a bit boring, but, today, honestly, has completely changed my mind.  THANK YOU SATRO team. J"

RACING TO SUCCESS

A small group of pupils at Green Oak Primary School in Godalming had a unique experience last week when they tackled the Jaguar Cars ‘Maths in Motion’ challenge.  Using software to calibrate a virtual racing car, the children used their mathematical skills to work out calculations for optimum performance of their car.  The children worked in small groups pooling their knowledge of multiplication, division, measuring and percentages.  The session also provided an opportunity for development and practical application of ICT skills.  The workshop culminated in a test race followed by an exciting Finale to determine the winner.  The children were thrilled to try something new and one pupil commented at the end that he felt “more mathematical”.

This event took place with the kind support of Councillor Peter Martin and we extend our thanks to him for providing this unique opportunity to the school.

OILING THE WHEELS FOR FUTURE CAREERS

Students at the City of London Freemen’s School in Ashtead were set three different challenges to complete over one day.  Aiming to encourage young people to consider STEM careers in the future, SATRO provided a maths activity, a problem-solving challenge to build a model of the London Eye and a bridge-building exercise for 92 Year 9 students, all designed to test their range of knowledge. 

Each activity lasted about 2 hours and gave the students an opportunity to practice and develop skills in communication, team-working and problem-solving.  All the teams were kept engaged on the various tasks and commented that they had benefitted from the experience:

“I have learnt which skills to apply to different problems and to apply technique in different ways”.

BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP

Two Mega-Structures events offered opportunities to KS3 students at George Abbot School and King’s College in Guildford the opportunity to develop skills in communication, planning, design and creativity.  Teamwork was the key element in tackling the task of building a bridge to span a 1.5metre gap.  An initial presentation set the scene about forces in structures before the teams began to manufacture paper sticks for the construction process.  Working to their individual designs, the teams built a range of innovative bridges which were tested for load bearing.  The students were pleased with the outcome and teachers commented on the excellent skills development opportunities provided by the challenge.

When asked what was the best bit about the day, a student responded, "Everything! Especially putting everything together. It was an amazing day I had lots of fun! Thank you very much."

And a teacher commented, "Year 8 work on an aspect of structures and architecture so this complemented the unit very well. Curriculum skills and knowledge but also teamwork."

We are grateful for sponsorship from Surrey County Councillors: , Mr Keith Taylor, who sponsored the George Abbot event,  and Mrs Fiona White, who sponsored King’s College.