Boeing and The Air League celebrated the achievement of eight Year 5 and Sixth Form students from City Academy and Clapton Girls in Hackney and Kingsdale Academy in Dulwich who have completed an intensive residential two-week gliding course.
Following a competitive process at an assessment day hosted by British Airways at their HQ in Heathrow, the students were awarded flying scholarships by The Air League, supported by partners Boeing and Linklaters. The students arrived for the course never having flown an aircraft and finished the course having flown a glider solo.
“The aim of the project is to increase accessibility to flying, inspire students to consider careers in aviation and give exciting new experiences to young people during their school summer break,” says Andy Perkins, President of The Air League and a Boeing 777 First Officer with British Airways. Boeing and The Air League hope that learning to pilot a glider will instil an interest in aviation in these young people, providing them with a unique life skill and opening up potential future career paths. Aviation and aerospace are global strengths of the UK and, to maintain this for the future, inspiring more talented young people to work in this sector is crucial.
This is the third consecutive year that Boeing, British Airways and Linklaters have come together to support The Air League’s gliding scholarships, with some former scholars having indeed gone on to complete their A-Levels and start their Private Pilot Licence training.
