Immingham students get keen on green energy

The year 11 pupils had the chance to visit Ørsted’s operation base in Grimsby as part of the company’s partnership with education charity Teach First.

Ørsted, formerly DONG Energy, has been operating out of Grimsby since 2013.  The operations and maintenance facility serves as a base for Westermost Rough and Race Bank offshore wind farms and the site is currently being extended into a multi-million-pound East Coast Hub which will serve Ørsted’s future East Coast windfarms, including the biggest wind farm in the world, Hornsea Project Two.

As well as a tour of the site they were able to board one of the huge Service Operations Vessels (SOVs) which accommodate the technicians whilst out at sea. They also had a workshop on CVs and careers and developed their teamwork skills by competing in teams to construct a model wind turbine using everyday stationery items.

Amber Tarry, Teach First Teacher at Oasis Academy Immingham, said:

"Today has been a brilliant opportunity for our pupils at Oasis Academy Immingham. It has explicitly tied in to their GCSE Geography course, and has allowed them to actually see how renewable energy is produced and developed in practice, having previously learned about the theory behind this in the classroom. It has broadened the students’ horizons in terms of potential job opportunities available to them locally, whilst also allowing them to reflect on the skills and qualities they will need to develop in order to succeed in a professional industry.

“I personally feel that it has motivated many of the students, especially hearing from the current apprentices who assured the pupils that they are capable of achieving whatever they put their minds to if they have a strong enough desire. A truly inspiring day!"

Mark Hickson, Operations Manager at Ørsted, said:

“Investing in the future isn’t just about building offshore wind farms to provide green energy. It’s about encouraging and inspiring the next generation of engineers to want to work in this growing industry. Our partnership with Teach First aims to do just that, as well as providing support for teachers in northern towns and cities, including Grimsby.”

Carol Gormley, Local Area Director of Teach First in Yorkshire and Humber, said:

 “Partnering with local businesses provides great opportunities for pupils to gain first-hand experience of the careers available on their doorstep. Young people often find it more difficult to access the informal networks of friends and family working in top professions so hearing directly from business is effective in getting them to think about what they want to do when they leave school. Many thanks to Ørsted for hosting the day.”

Ørsted’s partnership with education charity Teach First aims to transform the skills landscape for young people in northern towns and cities including Grimsby, with a focus on STEM subjects. Their sponsorship goes much further than financial support, and includes mentoring, school visits and work experience placements. 

Background - Ørsted in Education

Ørsted has a number of educational initiatives to inspire young people to access the growing offshore wind industry and develop the skills they need for a bright future:

• In February 2017 the company announced a three year partnership with education charity Teach First, to address educational inequalities in the North. As part of this Ørsted support Teach First on a number of challenging targets to improve the teacher attraction and retention, and pupil progression in Grimsby, Hull and Merseyside.
  
  
• Ørsted and the Natural History Museum’s pioneering education initiative, Generate: Scientists of the Future was launched this year. The project will raise awareness of the diversity of science-related careers and emphasise the role that science plays in everyday life. This year Ørsted launched a wind turbine technician apprentice scheme, based in Grimsby. The three-year apprenticeships will comprises of one year of classroom based learning at the Grimsby Institute followed by two years working on site with Ørsted. The apprentices will undertake a BTEC Level 3 in Engineering, and if they successfully complete the programme will become full-time employees at Ørsted.
  
  
• Ørsted has an ongoing partnership with Durham University, through funding the Chair in Renewable Energy position at Durham Energy Institute, and endowing three MSc scholarships for Durham University students each year since 2011.
  
  
• As part of the Walney Extension community benefit fund, Ørsted is providing £100k a year to a Walney community skills fund which will:
  
  
  • Pay into local college hardship loans to help students in the Cumbria and Lancaster area through contributing to local college hardship loans to pay for travel, books and childcare.
  • Provide funding for existing students wishing to study engineering courses at Furness College in Barrow-in-Furness beyond Government funded schemes.
  • Support a STEM outreach programme, run by the Royal Academy of Engineering in Barrow-in-Furness to inspire primary and secondary school and college students to go into engineering.

About Teach First

We are a charity with the vision that no child’s educational success should be limited by their socio-economic background. Our mission is to end inequality in education by building a community of exceptional leaders who create change within classrooms, schools and across society.

Our charity invests in the power of people to change lives by:

• finding and developing great people to teach and lead in schools serving the low income communities
• increasing the attainment and aspirations of pupils and their access to higher education and employment; and
• building a movement of teachers, school leaders, social entrepreneurs, policy makers and business people who are committed to ending educational inequality.

Since 2003, Teach First has placed 11,000 leaders in schools serving low-income communities, reaching over 1 million young people.

Anyone can get involved in the Big Class Challenge using our free lesson plans for teachers and guidance packs for volunteers. Further information here.