'Wonderful' new learning destination opens its doors

The new Skills Street experience – located at Gulliver’s Valley theme park – has opened its doors for the first time to schools from across the region and has now welcomed more than 600 school-aged visitors.

Skills Street CIC is a new education and training environment designed to revolutionise how young people engage with careers and skills development.

Among the highlights is the newly launched FlyMe@Skills Street aviation experience, which offers students a full airport simulation – from check-in to boarding a real Boeing 737 fuselage and flying an industry-standard simulator.

Visitors can also explore historic Rolls-Royce and Vulcan aircraft engines and learn about careers in aviation, engineering, travel, and tourism.

Skills Street features a wide range of sector-themed zones developed in partnership with leading organisations, including energy with E.ON, health and social work with the NHS and Rotherham Council, construction with Esh Group, and advanced manufacturing with Gripple.

John Barber from The Work-wise Foundation, a key partner in the project, said: “We were thrilled to welcome 329 pupils to Skills Street on our first day.

“It was great to see them experience our different zones and enjoy a whole range of industry experiences designed to inspire and educate students about future careers and the skills needed.”

Speaking on behalf of the first group of Year 4 visitors, Declan Sharpley, class teacher from Thurcroft Primary School, said: “Our visit to Skills Street was wonderful. There was a variety of different workshops, all engaging and offering different aspects that allowed children to be fully immersed in the experience.”

James Beighton, development manager, Skills Street, said: “We’ve created a space where students can explore real-world careers in a fun and interactive way, and to witness that in action was simply wonderful.

“We’ve worked hard to create a fun, interactive environment to ignite interest and inspire young people to think about the different skills needed, whether it’s flying a plane, designing a building, programming and operating a robot, there’s something here for everyone.”

Skills Street is part of a wider £20million investment by Rotherham Council to boost skills and leisure opportunities in the region.