At 20 I Joined The Circus - NCW2023

On day 3 of National Careers Week, Year 10 Maths students were visited by a carpenter who illustrated how the skills our students learn in school translate into the world of work. 

Andrew began his presentation with the words, "At twenty I joined the circus" and as you can imagine, the entire lecture theatre hung on his every word from the start of the careers talk until the end. Andrew explained that he was destined to join his family's business, and although he spent a few years at the company trying to please his parents, his heart really wasn't in it, and at twenty he headed to Australia on a 12 month working visa. Here he saw an advertisement in a newspaper for tent riggers to join a travelling circus, and after securing the position spent three months travelling across the south western area of the country. During his time overseas, Andrew found that he was not qualified for many of the roles he was interested in, so once back in the UK he quickly began looking for a 'trade'. Time spent working on a building site allowed him to see the different professions that are needed to create a house, and he became interested in the carpentry and joinery aspect of building, quickly enroling in a City and Guilds qualification which required him to spend one day a week at college.

And so began Andrew's quest to take advantage of opportunities that came his way:

• building his qualifications, first with the prestigious Institute of Carpenters examination, and then to become a registered plumber, electrician and gas engineer
• starting his own business,
• and sharing his knowledge as a vocational teacher at college for those who were starting their careers.

Throughout the presentation Andrew showed the students how all trades need a firm understanding of mathematical concepts, explaining that painters and plasters will need to work out the area of each wall so that they order the correct amount of materials and that a carpenter will often need to understand Pythagoras' theorem, angles, radius and circular area as well as the basics of multiplication, subtraction, addition and division in their day-to-day working lives.

Above all, Andrew stressed that the students should strive to always do their best and that they should take advantage of the free education they are currently receiving as many of his qualifications were self-funded throughout his career.

Summing up, Andrew told the students that whatever they chose to do, they should do it to the best of their abilities.

We would like to thank him for delivering such an informative talk in a truly engaging way.

#NationalCareersWeek2023