Hinkley Connection Project helps over 400,000 school children
After another successful 12 months of funding future talent, the Hinkley Connection Project Education Fund continues to bring new opportunities to local school children and supports them on their journey to becoming the next generation of engineers and scientists.
National Grid is helping schools across the Hinkley Connection Project deliver an improved education experience through its Education Fund by providing activities and equipment which teachers would otherwise not be able to afford.
In 2022 and 2023 the Hinkley Connection Project’s Education Fund supported 103,950 children from 382 local schools, including 22,375 children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Since the start of construction in 2018, we have supported 425,040 children, including 87,182 children from disadvantaged backgrounds. We have made 1,240 grants with £1.1m used for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) activities and equipment. STEM careers provide fantastic opportunities for young people to enjoy a rewarding professional life through shaping and innovating their surrounding environment and developing much needed technologies.
National Grid has funded a vast array of initiatives over the years since launching the fund, which include:
Building on our work, we’ve backed numerous valuable projects over the past few months. In February 2022, we celebrated National Apprentice Week, which celebrates the positive impact apprenticeships bring to employers, individuals and the wider economy. National Grid welcomed several aspiring engineers to the site of the Hinkley Connection Project to see first-hand how the project will connect six million homes and businesses to a source of low carbon energy.
In March 2022, archaeologists working on the Hinkley Connection Project ran an educational session and assembly for primary school students in Winscombe, North Somerset, helping to inspire the next generation of historians. Pupils first donned their hard hats and high vis before learning more about what archaeology is, what archaeologists do (and wear), what they find, and how a Hinkley Connection Project archeological dig uncovered a whole Roman town.
We’ve also enabled children to leave their legacy through our school time capsule events. On April 2022, Year 6 school children from East Huntspill Academy near Highbridge in Somerset, placed a time capsule inside the hollow stem of ‘their’ T-pylon, located close to the village. The contents were created by pupils to mark the historic milestone of the world’s first T-pylons being built in Somerset.
We are really grateful to National Grid for their ongoing support, which allows us to demonstrate best teaching practice.
In December 2022, we shared that 10 iPads have been donated by National Grid to Sexey’s School. The iPads will be used to enhance and support STEM learning to inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists as part of the project's Engineering Positive Futures initiative. As well as supporting STEM learning, one of the iPads has been used by a Ukrainian student, who is learning English to communicate with his peers and teachers.
Ross Dalzell, Deputy Headteacher – Curriculum, Data and Standards at Sexey’s School added "We were delighted by National Grid’s very generous donation. The iPads came at just the right time, as we were already looking at providing this support for our students, but there were challenges with buying the equipment.
This will positively impact learning for everyone. We are really grateful to National Grid for their ongoing support, which allows us to demonstrate best teaching practice."
Jonathan Richardson, CSR Officer for the Hinkley Connection Project, commented: “We continue to see the great value in improving the education experience at local schools.
“The Hinkley Connection Project’s Education Fund opens up new opportunities for children who may have not have otherwise had access to the latest skills or equipment. The positive feedback from our partner schools has been brilliant and we really value their help with prioritising our funding.”
