Fascinating Creative Forces Day for Year 9 Military Service Children

Military service children in Year 9 were invited to attend the Creative Forces Day which was hosted in the school pavilion and presented by Future HY and the SCIP Alliance.
This was an opportunity for military service children to come together to gain knowledge and understanding of Further Education and Higher Education progression routes. The event featured workshops, talks and interactive activities for students to take part in. Schools across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire were represented.

The students attended 3 workshops:
1. Further Education and Higher Education – Different jobs were showcased, for example Engineer, Nurse, Business Manager and Personal Trainer. Students learnt about the career pathways for each one.
2. Art and Design project – “How to draw faces” – This was a very creative task and the Year 9 students threw themselves into it and developed their art skills and their ability to follow clear instructions. (Lots of photos were taken of this activity!)
3. Virtual Field Trip to RAF Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk – Students had a virtual field trip and enjoyed learning about the history of RAF Thorpe Abbotts in Norfolk. They heard how a TV mini-series is being made by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, following the story of US airmen who were based at Thorpe Abbotts in 1943 as part of the 100th Bomb Group 

Click HERE for more information about the drama which will be on Apple TV soon.

Archaeologists have also uncovered American dog tags which had been buried at Thorpe Abbotts and had been working on identifying who they had belonged to.

There was very positive feedback from the students who said:
“It helped me to find out about some possible courses.”
“It was fun and different.”
“I was able to see what different jobs were suited to my hobbies.”
“It was interesting to learn about past military history.”
“This session was relatable as I could understand my peers feelings”
“The virtual field trip explained the 100th bomb squadron situation very well and made it interesting.”
“It gave me expanded details of further and higher education and careers”
“It was really helpful because it made me feel more confident”
“I felt like I had a bigger variety of things to do in my future”
“The field trip was really interesting and I liked how they explored personal stories”
“I enjoyed the art session because it showed everyone has creativity and it taught me things I didn’t know before.”

Ms Mannion, Careers Leader, said: “Our Year 9 students did very well and demonstrated excellent skills throughout. They listened well to the Zoom meeting which was broadcast into the classroom and followed instructions well. They were very engaged in all the activities and particularly fascinated by the history of RAF Thorpe Abbotts.”
Mrs Gleave, Services Children’s Advocate, added: “I was so impressed with this lovely group of students. They participated very well, showed great maturity in their responses and encouraged each other too. We talked about some of the qualities Services Students may have due to their unique experiences – independence, resilience, being able to make new friends. These students were real examples of those qualities and we have high expectations of what they will achieve as they progress through school. Fantastic artists among them too!”
Thank you to FutureHY and the SCIO Alliance for putting on the event.