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.