SATRO RECEIVES £10,000 GRANT FROM HEATHROW COMMUNITY FUND

 TO FUND SATRO MOBILE CLASSROOM CONSTRUCTION COURSE AT

SUNBURY MANOR SCHOOL, SUNBURY-ON-THAMES, MIDDLESEX

SATRO is delighted to announce that Heathrow Community Fund has donated £5,000 towards the cost of the SATRO Mobile Construction Classroom to attend Sunbury Manor School, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex on a weekly basis. SATRO runs a fleet of five mobile classrooms which attend schools across Surrey and its boards teaching up to BTEC Level 1 Building and Construction Skills to Years 10 and 11 students. 

Louise Duncan, HeadTeacher said “We have worked for years with SATRO Mobile Classroom for our Year 10 and Year 11 students and it has made such a difference to them.  They have relished the opportunity for more hands on practical work, enjoyed developing their skills and working in a completely different environment.  For some students it has given them an opportunity to succeed in a way which more academic subjects have not always offered them.  It has also had such a beneficial impact on their other students as they have seen the Construction Classroom as something special for them, somewhere where they can succeed and work in a different way and for many it has shown them a way into college.  We were so disappointed that for financial reasons we were not able to continue this provision and so grateful for the injection of funding from Heathrow Community Fund which means we will be able to do so.  It will make such a difference to our next cohort of Year 10 students, thank you.”

Heathrow Community Fund also donated £5,000 to SATRO to help fund a new van for this much needed programme.

Heathrow Community Fund is part of an independent grant–making charity set up by Heathrow’s owners to support and strengthen local communities close to the airport.  In the past two years it has donated more than £1 million through three grant programmes, funding projects which support young people, help protect the environment and support active local communities.  Funds come from an annual donation from the airport, donations from airline passengers and fine imposed on aircraft that breach noise limits.  

SATRO welcomes valued support from Guildford Borough Council

SATRO is delighted to announce the support of Guildford Borough Council in its programmes for young people.   Following the move of SATRO back to their roots at the Surrey Research Park where it all started 30 years ago, SATRO are thrilled to have Guildford Borough Council’s support to enable them to continue its work to inspire young people about their future careers in science, technology, engineering and maths. 

Beccy Bowden, CEO, SATRO said, “SATRO’s mission is to inspire young people in the area about their future careers, being based at the heart of the Research Park has enabled us to link young people directly to some of the outstanding world-class businesses we have here in Guildford.  There is a huge demand for young people with the right skills and we are delighted to be helping develop the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs for Surrey.”

Chris Burchell, Local Economy Manager, Guildford Borough Council with Beccy Bowden, CEO, SATRO, Cllr Gordon Jackson and Deputy Mayor Cllr Nikki Nelson-Smith attend The Problem Solving Challenge, George Abbot School.

Cllr Gordon Jackson, Lead Councillor for Economic Development at Guildford Borough Council said, "We are delighted to support SATRO in their work with local schools. Guildford is a centre for digital innovation and it is crucial to ensure that young people have the right skills to support employers' requirements. We hope events like these will inspire young people to look at alternative career paths that require expertise in areas such as science, technology, engineering and maths." 

Developing Female Engineers

The Institution of Engineering and Technology says the impression that ‘engineering is just for men’ needs to change in British businesses are to be successful. Research carried out by the institution has shown that the number of female engineers has remained at just 6% for past few years. The government announced in June, that it would be providing funding of £30 million to increase the supply of engineers, encourage more women into the sector and to address engineering skills shortages in smaller companies. The fund will enable engineering companies to establish training programmes to develop future engineers and boost the number of women in the profession. £10 million of the fund will be directed to a call to ‘Developing Women Engineers’.