The Blue Skies programme is provided by the Jon Egging Trust (JET), and offers long-term support to students who come from areas of economic hardship who are lacking in confidence and disengaging at school. The programme builds teamwork, leadership and resilience skills and offers access to dynamic workplaces and professionals linked to aerospace and entrepreneurial thinking, supporting students to reach their full potential.

This September, the students from Christchurch will join the scheme, alongside students from regions including East Anglia, Lincolnshire, Cornwall and North Wales.

Previously, the charity’s long-term programme was offered in work settings linked to STEM, aerospace and the RAF, while a shorter one-term Blue Skies Inspire Package (BSIP) was provided in schools. The new pilot programme combines both elements, with workplace visit followed up with an in-school session.

JET CEO, Dr Emma Egging, who founded the charity in memory of her husband, Red Arrows pilot Flt Lt Jon Egging, said: “What we have learnt at JET over the past 12 years is that students facing adversity need much wider and more nuanced support than current school interventions allow. By giving students access to incredibly exciting workplaces, and by introducing them to professional role models who often have their own stories of adversity which they share with the students – it gives them an understanding of what success at school could represent for them, and allows them to broaden their horizons and think differently about their own futures and potential.”