HS2 Team Launch Beacon Schools Programme

We are contributing to this through our flagship school’s engagement initiative, the Beacon Schools programme. This programme is a Sunbelt Rentals led initiative that sees us partnering with schools across the UK in 2023 to offer first-hand experience of a working environment. It will help students aged 16 – 18 years old develop practical learning skills in careers exploration, aiming to raise aspirations for young people and thereby supporting them to make informed choices on their future career intentions.

The launch of the programme took place with our nominated Beacon School for the Heathrow area, called Capital City Academy. This school is in the London Borough of Brent, situated in the heart of London and in close proximity to the construction of the High-Speed Rail line (HS2), with our teams delivering on this contract keen to get involved.

The Challenge

Capital City Academy is a fantastic school but does face some challenges, such as it experiences digital poverty and has many children who do not have English as their first language. It is keen to work with local businesses to help open as many opportunities and avenues of support for their pupils as possible.

The Solution

To begin delivering our Beacon Schools programme and offer students practical, hands-on experience we held a job shadow day at our Heathrow depot, led by our internal HS2 delivery team.

In November 2022, we welcomed 14 students aged 17 and arranged for them to take part in a series of educational workshops and Q+A sessions, hosted by volunteers from our Safety and Comms, Survey, Test and Monitoring and internal HS2 Projects teams.

On the day students learnt how some of the most advanced and sophisticated technology is used. They received many demonstrations including how technical survey equipment is used to scope out a potential construction site and how safety and communications play a pivotal role in modern day construction sites.

The job shadow day is the first in a series of activities we have planned with this Beacon School that will culminate in a one-week work experience placement for up to six students in July 2023.

The Results

The launch was a great success and students were able to have a better understanding of the varied roles that are available.

Swati Patel, Social Impact Programme Manager at Sunbelt Rentals, who leads the Beacon Schools programme said, “Thank you to all the Sunbelt team involved who helped with the planning and running of the day. There were more than 10 skills-based volunteers who shared their expertise and time to make it such a success.”

Simon Briggs, Business Improvement Director at Sunbelt Rentals said, “It was fantastic to offer our expertise and time to give the pupils an insight to construction. The teams from our Heathrow depot prepared and hosted engaging workshops which gave the students a great insight to the type of work we carry out and the equipment we use, providing real depth to the career roles they could pursue. We were proud to have helped Capital City Academy and look forward to continuing our support.”