ENTREPRENEURS IN THE MAKING!

60 Year 5 & 6 Pupils from Sayes Court School in Weybridge formed 10 teams and took part in a SATRO Junior Business Game on Yesterday.  These groups consisted of mixed ability and friendship groups to emulate the real working world.

Judging from the pupil's feedback, they had a superb day which definitely opened their eyes to the world of business.  And, how important teamwork and communication are in an effective organisation.

The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and learnt about the hard work and skills involved in the business world. 

Many thanks to Cllr John Furey who fully funded this event.

SATROCLUB EXTENDED PLACEMENTS

Fabia from Strode's College started a SATROClub extended work placement at the University of Surrey on 21st July for 4 weeks. Here's what she had to say about her experience after just a week.

"On the first day we were given a tour of the university followed by journal reading of researches on Vitamin D.

Second day was at Woking town centre with Louise, where we looked for volunteers willing to take a survey on Vit D. At first it was quite difficult given that we had to recruit South Asian volunteers only. Fortunately we were quite successful that day as we got more volunteers than expected.

On the third day, we took a tour to the Surrey Sports Park. There we observed the physical changes like heart rate, oxygen saturation, tidal volume of a person on an exercising bike, the resistance of which increases as time passes. We also had an optional seminar on 'Preventing Brain-Injury Associated with Depression'. Unfortunately I could not attend that seminar since I had blistered my feet that day.

We spent the fourth and fifth day mostly in the office, working on a critical review and the introduction of the report for the Gold Crest Award. The critical review is on a research journal that Louise had set out for each of us. We we'll be presenting our review on the coming Tuesday."

We hope the rest of your placement was as enjoyable and educational as the first week! 

SATROClub Extended Work Placement

In July, Thomas from Esher College participated in a SATROClub Extended Placement at the University of Surrey. Here is what he had to say only one week into his placement.

"I found that the first two days were quite intense because my supervisor (Radu) had to teach me a lot of complicated physics. I now understand most of it and it is becoming easier. I have also started using some software to simulate transistors and it didn't take long to get used to it. I am on track to completing my project in 4 weeks. Radu and I created a rough plan for the duration of the project, showing what needs to be done each day, and I am not behind on anything (so far). Although some of the theory involved in the project is very advanced, it is very interesting and I am really enjoying it because I am learning something new and different to what I have learned in college. Radu is a great supervisor. He is very helpful and a good teacher. He is also very friendly and I enjoy going to lunch with him and Will, who is working on a similar project with Radu."

We hope the rest of your placement was just as enjoyable as the first week, Thomas!

SATROCLUB EXTENDED WORK PLACEMENT

Atdhe is on an extended work placement at Jacobs, an engineering company. Here is what he had to say about his experience so far...

"I'm already finding the placement positively challenging and intriguing, I have been given 3 possible situations that I could choose to work on: The first being some restructuring work at Sydney Harbour Bridge; the second was the replacement of the deck at Church Bridge in Gloucester; and the final option was work on Carter Bridge in St. Helens. I spent the first couple of days making myself aware of the context behind each bridge, reading various reports and analysing complex drawings. Towards the end of the week we decided to exclusively look at the Church and Carter Bridge's further. On Friday I spent many hours working out various dimensions and researching material densities in order to determine the impact of each option on the environment with respect to their carbon footprints. A major surprise to me is in how relevant my work is and the responsibility and freedom that I have been given in carrying out my work, in such a manner that I have never experienced prior to this week."

We hope you enjoy the next three weeks of your placement, Atdhe! 

SATROClub Extended Work Placement

Today, a student from Guildford College will be starting her SATROClub extended work placement, which will last for four weeks, at The Surrey Wildlife Trust. The trust is one of 47 individual Wildlife Trusts covering the whole of the UK. They are the UK's largest people-powered environmental organisation working for nature's recovery on land and at sea. They currently manage 82 sites, together covering almost 8,000ha, which is 5% of the land area of the county. They work with many partners and other landowners to advise on land management for conservation, with particular emphasis on woodland, wetlands, and heathland. Good luck on your placement, Lauren!

LAST EVENT OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR!

Yesterday, SATRO headed over to Rodborough Technology College for our last event for this academic year! We delivered another of our Business Games to around 180 students. The participants were required to run their own stationery company for the duration of the workshop. Each team consisted of different 'Job Roles' including Managing Directors, Marketing Managers and Sales Managers to name a few. Each individual was given a role along with responsibilities that they were to keep on top of throughout the day. Over the course of the day, students were faced with different challenges including a Newspaper Advert and an increase in resource prices. The game aims to educate students about the real working world and the importance of skills such as teamwork and time management. It's clear from the students feedback that they have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and learnt many important life and employability skills.

BUSINESS AT ST PETER'S

On 15th and 16th July, SATRO delivered Business Games to St Peter's Catholic Comprehensive School in Guildford. A group of lovely SATRO volunteers were on side to help the students on the first day. The second day was kindly funded by Allianz who sent a group of employees to help and guide the students in the Business Game. The students were required to run their own stationery business over the course of the day, each had a different role with different responsibilities that they had to keep on top of during the game. The students seem to have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and gained a great insight into the real working world, and the importance of teamwork, time management and cooperating with peers.

THE ASHCOMBE SCHOOL BUSINESS GAMES

Today and tomorrow, a lovely band of volunteers from Pfizer will be attending The Ashcombe School to help deliver another two SATRO Business Games. The volunteers will be working with our Deliverer to help support the Students in running their own stationery company. Throughout the day, they will be faced with many challenges including a business presentation towards the end of the workshop. We have delivered numerous events to The Ashcombe School this year including Careers Speed Dating Workshops and Inspirational Speakers. We have recently received this lovely testimonial from Chris Panting of The Ashcombe School...

"The Ashcombe have worked closely with SATRO for a number of years but over the past 12 months we have increased the number of events we have staged.  The support SATRO give is exceptional allowing us to offer new experiences to the students.  The recent Careers Speed Dating events have been some of the most successful extra-curricular activities we have done, with students and volunteers praising the impact of the session.  Students met several professionals from a variety of occupations and this interaction has helped to widen the horizons of a number of students and demonstrated that career paths are very varied.  The organisation of Margaret Royle was particularly impressive. SATRO continue to be invaluable supporters of the school and I cannot praise their contributions highly enough."

CAREERS SPEED DATING @ GUILDFORD HIGH

110 Students from Year 8 at Guildford High School got to meet a huge variety of business professionals on Wednesday 3rd July during a frantic 2 hours of Careers Speed Dating, We had a biologist, a web designer, an attorney, a concierge, a neuroscientist, an actor, an accountant, and a member of the royal navy, to name just a few, 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 profession. 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 volunteer from a different profession presented themselves for questioning.

It was fast, frenetic and enormous fun,what was clear from the students feedback was that it has really changed their perception of what the future holds for them and makes it seem less daunting.

A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON BUSINESS @ PARKSIDE PREP

On Thursday 26th June, students from Parkside Prep School in Stoke D'Abernon formed 5 teams to take part in SATRO's Business Game. 

SATRO's business volunteers alongside class teachers were at hand to offer advice and encouragement to the young entrepreneurs. As the students’ fledgling companies emerged, they produced prototypes and competed for stationery orders from the discerning buyers.  Bank accounts were opened and accountants wrestled with the intricacies of cash flow, whilst sales managers were intent on winning orders and marketing managers were busy promoting their companies.  The Game threw the students some real challenges along the way - as the businesses settled down to regular trading, they were faced with paper shortages and one off, time limited opportunities!  The students gained some valuable hands on learning with some companies forging ahead, taking a clear lead.

Later in the day, in a quest to win the best presentation award, the students prepared a short performance, outlining what they had learnt throughout the day. Competition is always tough and the judges faced a challenging job selecting the winner. 

One student commented,

 "I was very surprised at how enjoyable the days activity was and I will go away from this with a better thought on companies. I thought today would be a lecture in the performance hall. (I was pleasantly surprised.) I learnt that businesses aren't boring and are very competitive. I thoroughly enjoyed myself today and would like to thank the SATRO Volunteers for their help in today's activities!"