Raising Aspirations Assembly 15

Date: 7th Jul 2019 @ 9:34pm

We were extrememly fortunate and privileged to welcome our guest, Mr Phil Matthews, who joined us this week for our Raising Aspirations assembly. We learnt all about his career as a pilot and how, after serving in the Royal Air Force, he realised -through hardwork and dedication- his ambition to fly aircraft professionally.

We learnt the day to day tasks of a pilot include:

• working early mornings or late evenings
• making sure all information on the route, weather, passengers and aircraft is received
• using that information to create a flight plan, which details the altitude for the flight, route to be taken and amount of fuel required
• making sure all safety systems are working properly
• communicating with air traffic control before take-off and during flight and landing
• understanding  and interpreting data from instruments and controls
• communicating with passengers using the public address system
• reacting quickly and appropriately to emergencies

There are many transferable skills which we develop during Primary school which are required to be a successful pilot which include the following:

• a good understanding of English, maths and science
• excellent spatial awareness and coordination
• good communication skills
• team-working skills
• the ability to think quickly and make decisions in difficult situations
• leadership skills, with the ability to give clear commands to cabin crew and passengers.

We very much enjoyed our career assembly and many of the children are considering a career as a pilot as a result. We would also like to thank Phil for taking the time to deliver such an inspirational assembly.

If you would be willing to share your career experience in one of our Raising Aspirations assemblies please contact Mr Aspinall.