Barnsley College helps raise primary school pupils’ future aspirations

Barnsley College’s Business Development staff visited Outwood Academy Primary Park Hill School in Wakefield to be part of a role play village, teaching children about the variety of careers on offer as they get older.

Barnsley College partnered with the school to be a part of a functional village called Parkmoor. Role play careers were created throughout the village using workshops in industries from Construction, Dental, Engineering and Esports to Hair and Beauty, Horticulture, Public Services and Travel and Tourism. Pupils took part in fun activities relating to each industry such as building bird houses, dental hygiene, mixing hair dye, cabin crew flight safety demonstrations, as well as planting and seeding in their new playground garden.

Helen Weatherston, Director of Business Development at Barnsley College, said: “It was a pleasure partnering with Outwood Academy Primary Park Hill School to show the students their potential, introducing them to skills that they can take into their future lives.

“As a College, we love to provide new experiences to younger students and show them potential future careers they might not have known existed. It’s all about expanding horizons and helping to transform the lives of not just our students, but also our local community”

The school also included pupils’ parents in the industry week where they ran class companies, mass produced products and sold them to parents to create profit margins.

Luke McNamara, Vice Principal of Outwood Primary Academy Park Hill School, added: “Our staff were blown away by the buzz around the academy and commented on how well the children engaged with each workshop. When speaking to children in all the classrooms, the majority of them commented on enjoying learning new skills ‘like adults’ in our role play working village.

“We are passionate about raising the aspirations of our pupils both academically and through exposure to an array of life experiences that will shape their future career paths. It is never too early to shift the mindset of historically low-income families to create a brighter future for our pupils.”