Dartmoor Aspirations Day at Princetown
On Thursday 16th March more than 300 children from seven local schools visited the Dartmoor Aspirations Day organised by the staff of Princetown Community Primary School. Representatives from 25 local businesses and services exhibited at the event to give the children an insight into different career paths and which school subjects are relevant in the course of their work.
The event took place in Princetown Community Centre and the hall was buzzing with activity from start to finish, as each cohort arrived, keen to explore and armed with questionnaires to make the most out of the experience. The children had the opportunity to talk to people from an incredibly wide range of different businesses and services in the local community, including artists, engineers, royal marines, a theatre nurse, an IT consultant and an estate agent to name but a few. The Aspirations Day is one of many new initiatives introduced by Phil Whittley, executive head teacher for The Dartmoor Federation and Princetown Primary School and was organised by Linda Critchley, school administrator, and also attended by Cllr Mandy Ewings, mayor of Tavistock. Thanks to sponsorship of the transport by the organisers of The Dartmoor Classic Sportive, school children from St Peter’s C of E Junior School and Mount Kelly in Tavistock, Meavy C of E Primary School, Horrabridge Primary & Nursery School, Lamerton Primary School and Gulworthy Primary School were able to visit the event over the course of the day, in addition to the pupils of Princetown Primary School. A number of the schools also took advantage of the chance to visit the Dartmoor National Park Visitor Centre, with over 200 children visiting the exhibits.
Chris Bartlett, commis chef at Two Bridges Hotel on Dartmoor, said they had made a vast quantity of brownies to bring along so that the children could have a go at piping chocolate decorations on the cakes, while they asked him questions about what it is like being a trainee chef - this was obviously a very popular exhibit as the process also involved eating the chocolate creations! Another activity much in demand consisted of using a baton to hit a large training pad held by a very patient Amy Carpenter of the Royal Navy Police. Doug Hinge of DHA Marine Design Ltd brought along a large container of water to demonstrate Archimedes’ principle and get the children thinking about why some objects float. A steady stream of children also queued up to try on firefighters’ kit with James Maidment, who was impressed with how inquisitive the children were and pleased to have an opportunity to let young people know that a career as a firefighter is open to both men and women. Children were able to take photos of their classmates and see the results on screen courtesy of Tracy McCormack of Tempest Photography, as well as make ‘volcanoes’ with Jane Ford from MVV Environment Devonport Ltd.
Amy Smith and Paul Marchant, teachers at Horrabridge Primary School, said that the number of exhibitors had far exceeded their expectations and that they were very pleased with the level of engagement from all of the children they had brought to the event. Staff from other schools were equally impressed with the event and the opportunity it presented to broaden horizons for future career prospects. Phil Whittley and Linda Critchley were delighted with the success of the first Dartmoor Aspirations Day and said that the vast majority of exhibitors have already pledged their support for next year’s event in June 2018. Phil explained: “Education is a journey for the children, and career aspirations are an essential ingredient to enable pupils to understand why they are making the journey and motivate them to strive towards their future goals.”