Sutton STEAM Fair advisory group gets recognition from Mayor

Six students from Sutton Grammar School, Nonsuch High School and Overton Grange had the opportunity to meet The Worshipful the Mayor, Councillor Colin Stears and were awarded certificates for their hard work acting as a youth advisory group throughout the planning of Sutton’s annual STEAM Fair.
A group of students and adults photographed with Mayor Cllr Colin Stears
The meeting with the Mayor of Sutton took place on Wednesday 22nd of September in the Mayor's Parlour in the Sutton Civic Centre. The students, who will soon be sitting their final A-level exams, are studying a range of subjects from engineering to accounting. At the Mayor's Parlour, they were greeted by the Councillor Stears with refreshments and had the opportunity to share their future ambitions with the mayor. 

The STEAM Fair was organised by Successful Sutton BID in collaboration with Sutton STEAMs Ahead. The schools day of the STEAM Fair held at Sutton Grammar school saw 21 Sutton-based schools present on the day, and took place the day before the larger community STEAM Day that weekend, on July 1st. The young people had a great impact on the success of the fair contributing to its planning through monthly sessions supporting the logistics and communications of the event, and advocating for the interests and needs of young people. This included inviting  entertainment and much-loved exhibitors such as the popular jet pack team - Gravity.

The event gained positive feedback from both teachers, students and The Mayor of Sutton, Councillor Stears, who said:
'This project has made clear the importance of not just telling, but showing young people about the range of disciplines within STEAM and the subject areas that you  can specialise in, which they may not have known were a possibility before. We’ve seen through the STEAM Fair how effective it is for young people to use arts and creativity to bring to life other subjects in the curriculum.'
Two students shaking hands with Mayor Cllr Colin Stears stood behind a golden scepter
In the meeting, The Mayor of Sutton, Councillor Stears, highlighted the importance of demystifying careers across STEAM and continuing to use arts and creativity to help communicate complex ideas in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, whilst making making career opportunities more accessible for those interested in embarking on a career in STEAM based industries.

The meeting was a fantastic start to the new school year, giving the students a fresh enthusiasm to achieve their academic goals as they graduate from school at the end of the year.

To continue illuminating STEAM for young people, Sutton STEAMs Ahead will be releasing a new learning resource aimed to serve secondary school students, titled ‘Welcome to the STEAM Hub’. These career videos, which include interviews exploring the journeys of professionals across different industries, will support young people to discover the broad range of opportunities and roles available in STEAM Careers.