Geoff can bring his experience of overcoming challenges to help young people develop straightforward tools to deliver success, increase resilience, overcome fear, and increase motivation to help inspire students to face and make the best of every situation and opportunity in their lives ahead.

Geoff competed in High Jump at 2 Olympic Games, has 1 European and 3 Commonwealth medals, was the British record holder for 6 years, led his country in his final championship appearance and has a unique achievement within British Athletics, breaking the senior British High Jump record whilst still a schoolboy, at the schools championships.

He is also the Chairman of Learn by Design, a company he set up from scratch and he can talk about his career development from sports person to entrepreneur.

These talks can be delivered in an assembly at the start of the day with a quiz to guess Geoff's job!

Please get in touch for the price of a talk delivered by Geoff.

Pupils work in teams to design and refine their own wind turbine blades whilst developing knowledge of renewable energy resources and careers in the green energy sector.

The activity starts with an introduction to S.T.E.A.M. with a focus on energy. The main task is to work in teams to design, construct and test their own wind turbine, using a visual voltmeter. A key focus is identifying ways to refine and improve their design.

This activity lasts up to 2 hours 30 minutes but can be shortened to a 90 minute session to accommodate more learners throughout the day.

Overview

A 2-2.5 hour session where children will explore the journey their milk takes from the cow on the farm to being made into cheese and then making a cheese sandwich in a café. They will also learn about the jobs and careers that are needed for this whole journey. 

They will be able to milk our wooden cow Buttercup, plant their own seeds to grow, explore dairy products through sensory play, simulate the movement of goods with robotics, stack and sort shelves, and prepare a gourmet cheese sandwich at the end. 

Aim

By the end of this workshop students will know how cheese is made and the journey it has had to take to get to the shops and onto your sandwich. Students will also discover the different jobs linked to this journey.

Content

Students will learn about the process of milk to cheese and the journey from farm to fork. They will have an explanation of each step and see a video of the career or task being done. 

The learners will next carousel around the 6 stations trying out each activity:

• Milking the cow

• Planting cress seeds

• Exploratory play with dairy products 

• Robot programming based around logistics 

• Stacking and sorting game based on supermarket shelves

• Making a cheese sandwich as a café worker

When the students have completed the carousel then they will be given a jigsaw of each part of the journey to put together. So they can see that the parts of the journey make up for the whole thing of a cheese sandwich at the end. 

The session ends with a game of farmyard charades.

A carousel of activities to explore the geography of where jobs can take us.

The activity starts with an introduction to jobs that involve travel or living in a different city, region or country. The main activity is a carousel around four different career stations, where the students ‘travel’ to different parts of the city, region or world to use the equipment, practise their skills for success, and complete various job challenges. If time allows, extra challenges include ‘Careers Charades’ and a variety of communication games.

KS1 adaptation – Depending on the group’s ability, rather than rotating around the stations in groups, we will visit each station as a class with a different group doing a student demonstration at each station, still allowing all pupils to be involved in an activity.

This activity lasts up to 2 hours 30 minutes but can be shortened to a 90 minute session to accommodate more learners throughout the day.

Pupils learn about robots and their importance in the modern world whilst working in teams to code robots to complete simple challenges.

The activity starts with an introduction to S.T.E.A.M. with a focus on technology looking at what a robot is, why they are useful, and how we use them. Learners are introduced to logistics and shipping with a focus on careers and robotics. The first practical task is working in teams to program a Vernie robot around a maze as though it were a factory floor utilising problem-solving skills. The second robot task is linked to the Mars Rover and uses a VEX robot to move objects into craters showing there are different ways of using robots, and that they can be designed for many different purposes.

This activity lasts up to 2 hours 30 minutes but can be shortened to a 90 minute session to accommodate more learners throughout the day.

Research shows children as young as five have stereotypical views about the jobs people do based on their gender. This workshop aims to prevent those stereotypes developing and enhance an understanding that boys and girls can do the same job. 

We will do this by exposing students to activities and role models that can inspire them and broaden their horizons. Framed in a positive and constructive way, the activities encourage children not to rule out career options for themselves because of their gender.

This activity lasts 1 hour and can be repeated to up to 4 classes throughout the day.

A day exploring and developing the skills and attributes you need to become an entrepreneur. 

Pupils are set challenges and work in teams on a project to develop and promote a product aimed at children. 

The activity starts with an introduction to small, medium and large businesses and what makes them successful. As a group learners identify what makes a good invention and business idea. Their first creative task is to work in a team and design a product, considering their target audience and it’s USP plus designing a logo and slogan. 

The second part of their challenge is thinking about how products are marketed successfully. They will work together to create and perform an advert selling their product, exploring jobs in design, marketing and media along the way.

A rail careers journey using the construction of a track with K’nex to explore challenges and careers along the way.

The activity starts with an introduction to S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Maths) and students take part in a jobs themed mini quiz. In teams, learners then plan and build a railway track along a map of the country, while wearing their team’s coloured high vis jackets. Challenge cards highlight different jobs and responsibilities in and around the rail industry, including design, health and safety, practical building, using different languages, identifying artefacts and more.

This activity lasts up to 2 hours 30 minutes but can be shortened to a 90 minute session to accommodate more learners throughout the day.