Hounslow school pupils boldly visit “Star Trek” technology area at BT

Two part engagement project a hit with junior school 

Youngsters from Hounslow Heath Junior School got a taste of Star Trek when they were given a unique insight by BT into the world of super-fast communications. 

Pupils aged eight to 11 took time out from the classroom to boldly go and visit the BT Showcase technology area at the company’s London headquarters in Newgate Street. 

The school was visited by BT’s Openreach apprentice engineers in their super-fast broadband vans recently, to talk to pupils and raise awareness about the kind of work they provide for the local community in their borough. 

The pupils quizzed the BT apprentices about the different types of work carried out to install super-fast broadband, the equipment that is required and a tour of the technical kit in the Openreach vans. 

The school’s Junior Leadership Team also visited BT’s head-quarters in London and were shown the BT Showcase technology area, which the pupils dubbed the “Star Trek” room. Children in years three to six were shown how to construct computerised models with building bricks using new technology. One pupil was so impressed, he asked for a job at BT. 

Mrs Ritu Aulakh, headteacher at Hounslow Heath Junior school, said: “These engagement programmes are a great way for our pupils to learn a sense of what it is like to work in the real world and to see the type of work that is required to provide the internet into people’s homes. Our pupils were very excited at the opportunity of meeting the Openreach engineers. They enjoyed the tour of the van’s technical equipment and the opportunity of sitting in the driver’s seat.” 

James Connolly, BT apprentice engineer, said: “It’s great to visit Hounslow Heath Junior School and talk about our jobs and answer the questions from the children. We already do a lot of work providing broadband to the local area and this was an opportunity to show the youngsters in the local community what we do in their area.” 

Around 90 per cent of homes and businesses in Hounslow London Borough have access to fibre broadband. BT employs around 300 residents in the local area and has around 80 people working at BT sites locally. BT’s economic presence in Hounslow includes spend of around £145 million with locally based suppliers and an estimated Gross Value Added contribution of £180 million per year*. 

For further information please contact the BT Regional Press Office on 0800 085 0660. All our news releases can be found at www.btplc.com/news 

*Gross Value Added (GVA) measures the value of all goods and services produced in an economy. GVA combines wages and operating profits from companies and other organisations. Growing GVA can reflect improvements in workforce skills, productivity, R&D and innovation.