Chester strengthens ties with local Bishop Heber School

As part of a new initiative to deliver an enriching educational programme in conjunction with a local school in the area, Chester Race Company became affiliated with Bishop Heber High School in the summer of 2018.

The school is based in Malpas, Cheshire and has 1,300 pupils between the ages of 11 to 18. The race company made a pledge to the school to deliver relevant workshops, activities and enterprising talks, which has run through the school year and was supported by Racing to School.

Preparing for the world of work

Pupils were taught about the diverse nature of Chester Race Company, and how to prepare for the world of work. They learned about the opportunities available to them as they progress through academia and go to the next phase of their development. A range of engaging experiences were delivered via fun, informative activities throughout the school year.

First on the timetable during the last Autumn Term, Year 9 students participated in a business enterprise day. The year group was split into small groups, set to compete in a theoretical market place for a top business position. In the morning, sessions focussed on marketing and students were encouraged to get creative by designing their own posters, participating in a photo shoot and constructing a piece of creative writing to accompany their business advert. The afternoon session focused on tasks around budgeting and sales strategy. Without the help of a calculator, students managed their budgets according to the company’s busy schedules. The day brought out the competitive nature of the students and was a great success, with many diligent business plans composed.

Senior students in Years 11-13 benefitted from a careers convention in both the autumn and the spring terms. Members of the Race Company’s Human Recourses Team shared their experiences and advised the students on all things from work experience through to the job applications.

Literacy and maths skills

In spring, Year 7s were introduced to the programme with an assembly focussing on literacy and maths skills, which involved Carrie Ford from Racing to School.

This summer term saw the Race Company conduct two full days of business workshops, with Year 8s visiting Chester Racecourse on 1st July for a workshop that featured snapshots from each department within the company, from catering to accounts. Each student was able to ask questions about the background of department members and learn about the variety of roles and skills needed to keep a racecourse running all year round. Students were given a take-home memento of a personalised notebook.

The following day, Year 10 students enjoyed a full careers day that focused on four primary areas: job advertising, personal skills, writing CVs and interview skills. There was fantastic feedback from both teachers and pupils, who felt their experiences of the day had benefitted their personal development.

The overall programme has been well received and is likely to continue into the next school year.

Romans, Rivers and Racing for Chester Heritage Festival’s inaugural Education Programme

As a pre-cursor to this year’s Chester Heritage Festival in June, a free educational programme was offered to local KS2 children, funded by the Earl of Chester’s Fund. Chester Grosvenor Museum, Chester Race Company and Roman Tours UK, worked together on the topical theme of “Romans, Rivers and Racing”.

The programme received much attention and many requests to sign up from local schools, but only a finite number of places were available. Held at Chester Racecourse last week on Monday 10 June, the day proved to be a fantastic success. Over 100 children, from four local schools were lucky enough to be involved. Horrible history, practical maths, and artefact handling all featured in the informative lesson plans over the course of the day.

Mrs, Hollins – St. Oswald’s C.E. Aided Primary School said, “We all enjoyed the trip to the racecourse today, children and adults! All of the activities were very well planned and engaging for the children, and the links between each were very helpful. There was nothing but positive feedback when we arrived back at school!”