Festival of Industries

In May, a group of Year 9 pupils took part in a Festival of Industries, hosted by the University of Portsmouth and organised by the Southern Universities Network. This employment-focused day allowed Year 9s to learn more about the opportunities opened up by digital and technology sector careers. Supported by two employers, QinetiQ (a global defence and security company) and CoolPixel Studios (a creative game studio, specialising in Roblox), the experience was curated to give young people hands-on experience with workplace-style tasks and to make links between classroom learning and real-world employment. QinetiQ delivered a fascinating Virtual Reality workshop, using immersive technology to show how digital capabilities can support engineering in practice. CoolPixel ran a session where students planned their very own Roblox game, considering how it would play, how they would market it, and perahps most importantly, how they would monetise their games. The day gave the group a valuable chance to explore possible future pathways and to see the application of digital skills to workplace environments. Thanks to Mr Hurt for accompanying the trip and for QinetiQ, CoolPixel Studios, the Southern Universities Network and the University of Portsmouth for providing this valuable confidence-boost for our students.