Our 'Inspiring Futures' week was designed to raise hope about the future and give our children an opportunity to dream and to think about what they would like to do.
Mr Barker talked to the pupils about “attitude of gratitude”. He said: “We know this last year has been tough but now we really want to encourage you all to look to the future and be thankful for what you have.”
Staff careers
To encourage pupils to think about jobs and to be curious, staff talked to pupils during the week about their career paths to date and answered questions about their various roles.
Mr Barker also talked about his career and explained to pupils that he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do when he was younger. He was offered the chance to be a professional basketball player and considered becoming a professional cricketer. All those experiences he loved, but what they taught him was that he wanted to be like his coaches and his teachers and inspire young people to follow a path.
Mr Barker said: “I’m not sure I was good enough to be a sport professional, but I realised that I got a real buzz from helping young people start their life journey in the best possible way. That’s why I knew I had to be a teacher.”
The children really enjoyed Mrs Barker’s collection of pictures of Mr Barker playing basketball and cricket!
Parent careers
Form time was full of interesting insights and advice from seven of our parents, who joined form time via Zoom, to share their career journeys.
We heard from a broadcast journalist, a sports marketer, two pilots, a marketer, a head of communications and public affairs, a media planner and a business owner. They shared how they were originally inspired, what they love about their jobs and their top tips.
Out in the playground afterwards, the children said they really enjoyed learning about what a few of our parents do. One pupil, who was dressed up today as an actor, said: “I was really interested in sports marketing. I love sport and so that sounds really like a fun job.”
Our speakers revealed the best aspects of their careers, including variety, meeting people with different perspectives, travelling to different countries and working on complex problems that require problem solving skills.
Top tips included...you'll be learning throughout your life so always keep learning, if you are good at something take it into further studies, work hard and be focussed, learn how to tell great stories at school so this can be used in life, be curious by asking people about what they do, follow your passions and keep an eye out for opportunities along the way.
Our guest speakers also talked about how jobs were changing and how the environment is becoming an increasingly important focus in the workplace.
A massive thank you to our parents who joined us.
Dress up day
At the end of the week, we had a very memorable Inspiring Futures Dress Up Day. A quick glance around at break time revealed a raft of different career aspirations from our Year 3 - Year 8 children.
We spotted architects, a sushi chef, army soldiers, police and naval officers, a spy from MI5, archaeologists, zoologists, mechanics, authors, comedians and comic book writers, cricket and tennis professionals, a Formula 1 driver, vets, doctors, artists, gymnasts, sports coaches, actors, DJs, a YouTuber, barrister, basketball professional, hairdressers and stand up comedians amongst many.⠀
