Two schools, one mission: widening participation in STEM careers

The first week of May was a whirlwind, and we wouldn’t change a thing. We kicked off the week with a careers workshop in a small village in Northumberland and closed it with a busy careers fair at Guildford County School. Two very different settings, both filled with students ready to explore their futures.

Northumberland - a SEND school, a quiet village, and a powerful reminder

Our first stop was a SEND school in a remote village in Northumberland. It was a thoughtful, calm environment and an incredibly meaningful one to visit. Bringing the XPark Games experience into this setting underlined exactly why accessibility sits at the heart of what we do.

Every young person deserves engaging, modern tools to explore who they could become, regardless of geography, additional needs, or how their classroom is structured. For these students, gamified virtual work experience offered a low-pressure, hands-on way to step into real digital roles in cybersecurity, AI, and the wider tech industry. We left Northumberland inspired, and even more determined to ensure XPark Games is inclusive and adaptable for all learners, including those with SEND.

Guildford County School - a high-energy careers fair

Back in Surrey, the careers fair at Guildford County School was packed with curious students, brilliant exhibitors, and great conversations across so many career pathways. We ran live trials of Network Shield, our cybersecurity game, and loved seeing students dive in. They asked sharp, thoughtful questions, solved challenges in teams, and started rethinking what a future career in digital or STEM might actually look like.

The moments we live for are the ones where a student looks up from the screen and says, “actually — I could do this.” That mindset shift, especially in students who hadn’t previously considered cybersecurity careers, is exactly what gamified careers education is designed to unlock.

A huge thank you to the brilliant educators and organisers who welcomed us so warmly, and to every student who played, asked, explored, or imagined something new. Special thanks to Huda Gay, Sabina Rashbrook, Mark Fox, Francesca Noble, and Alison Miller for making both events possible.

If you’d like to bring XPark Games to your school or careers fair, we’d love to hear from you.