Year 10s get set for Work Experience

Our Year 10s recently embarked on a week of work experience in some fantastic settings to build on all those all important life skills.  Here’s what a few of them had to say about their week:

We are working at Hawkedon Primary school where we are shadowing a teacher and learning about being a sports coach and a teaching assistant.  This has helped us experience what’s its like from the other side of the classroom!  It’s also helped us build more confidence in speaking to younger people and helping to be successful. 

Harrison & Arel

I’ve been lucky enough to complete my work experience with NATS (National Air Traffic Services). During my time there, I’ve had the opportunity to go into the air traffic control simulators, where I learned how controllers manage aircraft movements and keep everything running safely and efficiently.  I also spent time in the operations room, seeing how real-time decisions are made.  One of the highlights was visiting Heathrow Airport, where I was able to see the scale of operations in real life and understand how everything connects from the ground to the air.

Callum E

I have been working at a local charity shop and throughout the week I have learnt some very valuable skills—practical and life such as: checking the quality of the donated clothes before ironing and tagging them to sell; using the coffee machine (essential!); communicating with people and negotiating the price of donations and using the cash machine.

I have also learnt how a charity shop works, how to manage the donations on shelf and rotate stock and update displays to keep customers interest in purchasing them. I now also have a good idea of how a work place feels like. 

Dennis T

During my week  I have learnt what it is like to be in the workplace, and what kind of different jobs make up a business. In the company I was working at, I was mainly based in the office learning how their admin and health & safety works, but I was also outside in the nursery tagging trees to their prices and making sure they were the correct one.  

I also visited a site where they were changing somebody’s entire garden. At this site, I was checking the different plants and seeing if they needed watering or not - in the picture attached. I also learnt how to prune plants and weed and I also witnessed a tree being lifted by a piece of machinery.

Jake T

I have been working in property management, where I’ve helped with repairs and observed the communication between landlords. I’ve also been able to see how business deals are handled, as well as how properties are recorded and documented.  Overall, this has given me insight into the key social and professional skills needed for this role.

In addition, I have learned about how  properties are prepared for new tenants and the process of conducting property inspections. This experience has helped me improve my communication and organisational skills, and has given me a better understanding of the property industry as a whole.

Khalil S-J