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PGC: Spirax Sarco workshop
3rd May 2022

On Thursday 17th March, Spirax Sarco came to CLC for a Professional Guidance Centre (PGC) workshop. This FTSE 100 company is a multi-national engineering group with over 100,000 customers worldwide specialising in environmentally friendly steam solutions. Dr Gillian gave an inspiring speech about her tremendous recovery from a life-threatening event and what it taught her. She persevered in her ambition to become an athlete and still managed to pursue a career in maths until she fell during mountain climbing, being hospitalised for months. This then led her to Spirax Sarco, where she is Head of Engineering and still participates in marathons and other athletic events as she makes her full recovery. She showed us it is possible to commit to one career path and pursue other interests.

We then were assigned roles and put into teams with the aim of working together to build a working model of a lighthouse, trying to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. We were given a budget and ‘purchased’ materials from the stalls whilst working under time conditions to build a masterpiece. In the end, we came out of the experience with improved teamwork skills and confidence after giving a presentation on our final model. This was a great opportunity that taught us how to work in a team and utilise everyone’s skills even if you aren’t completely comfortable with the part you have been allocated.

Finally, there was a competition for the team that had made the most functional lighthouse with the least amount of money and best design, and I was extremely glad when my team won! Many thanks to Spirax Sarco – I learned a lot from this workshop.

Keira, UC4 (Year 10)