Make a Difference Week with Sopra Steria

Bronagh Sumner

At Villiers Park, we believe every young person deserves the chance to imagine and realise their possible selves. Thanks to Sopra Steria our Principal Corporate Partner, more students from under-represented backgrounds are able to seize exciting opportunities, access key financial support and develop skills to help shape their futures.

During Sopra Steria’s Make a Difference Week, we’re celebrating the impact of this collaboration for our Future Leaders.

In the last academic year 120 young people got the chance to step out of their comfort zone and into Sopra Steria’s offices in London and Edinburgh. For many students, it’s the first time stepping into a professional workplace, so having the chance to connect with Sopra Steria colleagues is an invaluable opportunity.

“I didn’t know things like this existed. It’s made me consider working for a place like this even though I’m not a business person at all. [...] This is like a hidden gem.” – Future Leader, after attending an Insight Day

Clara, a Future Leader Alum from Hastings, shared:

“The Sopra Steria trip was fantastic. I’d never really been to an office workplace, and Villiers Park is full of those kind of opportunities where you do things you wouldn’t really think about.”

Our partnership also delivers practical support for Future Leaders and alumni of our programmes. Thanks to the Sopra Steria Opportunities Fund, over 200 Future Leaders were able to access bursaries for laptops, textbooks and study resources and experiences like university visits.

Aderinsola and Adesola, both Year 10 Future Leaders, shared:

“We would also like to thank the Sopra Steria Fund as this year we received two brand new laptops. This has really helped so much considering the amount of written and course work we have in our GCSEs.”

From employability workshops to exploring how technology is shaping the future, Sopra Steria volunteers are helping young people build confidence, discover career pathways and gain skills for life.

As one Year 12 student reflected after a Sopra Steria Experience Insight Day in London:

“We learnt about their day-to-day jobs. It was really interesting to learn how comfortable it was compared to how you’d see it represented in the media. It was really fun to talk to them and we learnt quite a lot of things. It was really a good chance to get out and experience a lot of new things, especially going to London.”

Gaby Sumner, Villiers Park Chief Executive said:

“Working with Sopra Steria gives us a fantastic opportunity to expand young people’s horizons and enable them to develop the skills and experiences they can take forward in their futures. Together, we can help to change the landscape of opportunities available to young people, no matter their background.”

We are thrilled to be entering into our fourth year in partnership with Sopra Steria and second as a principal partner. This Make a Difference Week we want to thank every colleague and volunteer who gives their time, energy and skills to support our Future Leaders.

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Staff Spotlight: Meet Emma

By Bronagh Sumner • April 25, 2025

In September 2024, we were thrilled to have Emma Cross join our team as a Progression Coach in Hastings and Bexhill. Before working at Villiers Park, Emma worked as a teacher across multiple schools in East Sussex and internationally. What does your role entail? As a Progression Coach, my role involves supporting young people across Hastings and Bexhill ?" especially those from underrepresented backgrounds ?" in achieving their academic and career aspirations. I provide one-to-one sessions to help students develop confidence, resilience and goal setting skills as well as supporting students in identifying their strengths, interests and potential career pathways. This support could either be through university and apprenticeship applications, personal statements, interview preparation, internships or other alternative career pathways. I have also been involved in organising and delivering workshops around applying for university and managing exam anxiety. What did you do before coming to Villiers Park? I spent some time in Hong Kong studying and teaching English at a local primary school. Throughout my time teaching, I discovered a passion for learning about education in international contexts, so I decided to study a MA in International Education and Development at the University of Sussex. From this, I gained valuable insights on the impact of globalisation on education policy and practice. I also volunteered with the Hastings Sierra Leone Friendship Link, where I had the opportunity to travel to Hastings, Sierra Leone, and work with some amazing individuals, focusing on developing education and healthcare around the surrounding areas of Freetown. What is your biggest project at the moment? My biggest project now is supporting our Future Leaders with their Leadership Challenge projects. I spend a lot of time working with groups, supporting them with their project proposals and implementation. We have some great projects this year, such as a community beach clean, a research presentation around A-Level Law, teaching a Year 7 PE lesson and a whole school football tournament. What is the biggest challenge you are currently facing in your role? The biggest challenge I am currently facing is finding local and contextual apprenticeship and work experience opportunities for our Future Leaders. Hastings and Bexhill have a limited offering for these opportunities, so it makes it difficult for our Future Leaders to feel motivated and involved in apprenticeships. What is your favourite part about your job? My favourite part of the job is seeing the direct impact you have on students’ confidence and aspirations. Watching students grow and see them go from uncertain about their future to feeling empowered and motivated and building strong relationships with young people and being their trusted mentor who helps them navigate challenges. Also, knowing that your work is making a real difference in creating social mobility and giving students access to opportunities, like university insight days, they might not have had otherwise. What is a book you will always recommend? This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone ?" high science fiction meets with poetic love literary! If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go? It has always been my dream to go to Japan! I’m fascinated by the culture and landscape ?" and Japanese food is my favourite!? Or New Zealand to see all the different locations where they filmed the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Who are your two dream dinner party guests? Wow! So many people I would choose... but I would have to go with Chino Moreno from the band Deftones ?" just so I can talk about all the things I love about his music! And Hakuri Murakami to talk all things literature. What would your perfect weekend look like? A perfect weekend would be brunch in my favourite cafe (must have good coffee!), a sunny walk around the South Downs with the dogs, ending up in a pub with good friends, food and a band!