Inspiring Young People

As part of our commitment to inspire generations of young people, we have developed an on-site education centre at Stansted known as the ‘Aerozone’.  It provides a flexible and inspirational learning environment for children and young people. Since it opened in June 2015, the Aerozone has welcomed over 10,000 students from the ages of five to 18.

The Aerozone offers a range of educational materials and activities focusing on three main themes:

• STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

• Careers in aviation - Showcasing the variety of careers on offer at the airport by giving children and young people an insight into airport life. 

• The history of Stansted Airport – using artefacts and photos dating back to the Second World War when Stansted began life as a U.S Air Force base.

The Aerozone can be used for a diverse range of activities and can be adapted to suit the needs of each group.  Permanent exhibits provide a number of interactive activities including a wardrobe of airport uniforms for youngsters to try on, a scale model of the airport, designed and built by the airport’s engineering apprentices, a large magnetic destinations world map and a range of interactive science sets.

In addition, we provide a range of free teacher resource packs on a number of relevant topics that teachers are welcome to use to support their visit. 

Each visit is also supported by a guest speaker.  Airport staff have volunteered hundreds of hours at the Aerozone to speak to students about what they do and how their job supports the airport. Previous speakers include: firefighters, police officers, paramedics, pilots, engineers, border force, airside rangers, human resources, customer experience staff, cabin crew, security officers, air traffic controllers and more. 

This facility is accessible free of charge to local schools and colleges.

How to book a trip to Aerozone Stansted

The Aerozone is fully booked for the September 2024 – July 2025 academic year. To access the waiting list, please click here.

Please ensure you have read our updated teacher FAQs before submitting your booking request.

If you would like to find out more about visiting the Aerozone, please watch our pre-visit video.

Directions to the Aerozone can be found here.

If you have any further questions about the Aerozone, please email aerozonestn@magairports.com.

Stansted Airport College

Opened in September 2018, we are delighted to be the first major UK airport with a purpose built on-site college. 

A joint venture with Harlow College, the £11 million technical skills college is the only Further Education facility in Uttlesford. The two-storey facility, located on a one-acre site of land made available by the airport, has received two separate £3.5 million grants from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) Local Growth Fund and Essex County Council and is also supported by a £300,000 grant from Uttlesford District Council.

Through the creation of this valued and important training facility, we hope to help bridge the technical and engineering skills gap in the county, identified by the Essex Employment and Skills Board. We hope to welcome some of our previous Aerozone visitors to the next stage of their education at the college in the near future.

Read more about Stansted Airport College and the courses on offer here:

https://www.stanstedairportcollege.ac.uk/

Mentoring

We recognise that local young people are the workforce of the future and our mentoring programmes with Forest Hall school and Stewards Academy aim to support young minds in developing the essential skills that young people need. Areas covered by the scheme include: time management, what steps to take after GCSE’s and how to ensure a good work-life balance.  

In the last 5 years, 26 senior leaders have supported over 100 young people through these successful mentoring schemes.

To read more about this visit https://www.stanstedacn.com/category/education-programmes/school-mentoring/