Work Experience Week
Year 10 Work Experience Week
Firstly, a huge congratulations to all Year 10 students who participated in the Year 10 Work Experience Week! 93% of our Year 10s were able to spend the week out of school, with a wide variety of employers across the area. The feedback from placements has been really positive – some have even been offered weekend and holiday work as a consequence!
Secondly, a huge thank you to all the employers who graciously gave of their time and expertise to make our students welcome and challenged them to survive a week in the world of work. Again, the feedback from placements indicates our students were required to develop and demonstrate self-confidence, resilience and many other employability skills that will aid them in their future plans and, perhaps, refocus them in their studies here in school.
In-house work experience
For a variety of different reasons, some of our Year 10 cohort were unable to attend a placement. However, our excellent Careers Team were working hard in the weeks prior to the work experience week to create a programme that would enable students to gain some insights into the work of work, some of which is set out below.
We had many incredible visitors come into school to share their knowledge and expertise in their specific field, this was for the students that were unable to secure a work experience placement. The workshops were ranging from Engineering to Construction, Art and Design to Music and Banking to the Media. IT to Investment banking.
On Monday we researched careers on Unifrog and started some virtual work experience in SpringPod. In the afternoon we had our Careers link Governor Richard Launder come in to talk to the students about his career path and some tips for CV’s and interviews. We were also joined by Russell Stilwell who’s workshop “Your Hired” was well received.
Tuesday was a popular day, we were joined by Charlotte from Investment 20/20 who talked to the students about careers in investment banking and preparing for the recruitment process. Then Artist Daniel Screen came in to show some of his amazing creations and designs then ran an elevator pitch workshop with the students which they really enjoyed. After that we had Alumni Nigel Reeve’s Careers path talk about his career in the Music Industry!
A Huge thank you to Leonardo and DWP for their interactive workshop for the end of the day where students got to see some very impressive thermo imaging camera equipment and also learned about aerodynamics with paper aeroplanes.
We kicked off Wednesday with a visit to Human Kind Café in Billericay who kindly invited a small group of our student with Mr Wilson to host a quiz with their Pioneer Social Group at the café. The Students spoke to some of the people who attended and really enjoyed the experience. They said it helped them grow in confidence by speaking to new people.
In the afternoon we had a visit from the Barclays team with Barclays Life Skills, a session about money matters and personal banking. Topped off with Claire from Get Set UK talking about Apprenticeships!
On Thursday we had Hill Group visit us to run a great workshop session about the construction industry and local labour market and careers information. Students got a glimpse into the different rolls and got to hear about the local building project close to our school.
We were then challenging stereotype with Girls can Build from OCL with a fun interactive session from Rebecca and Varsha.
We also had a trip to Gateway 97.8 FM in Basildon who hosted us for a studio tour and also took three of our students for a week of work experience at the radio station! The three of them were all live on air on Thursday!
On Friday we welcomed GSQ Brickworks and Site Ready with Bill and some of their apprentices who gave us the whole day learning about Construction! Students got real hands on experience of bricklaying and learned about quantity surveying and Health and Safely.
The whole day of construction from the team was incredible, students were given the chance to get hands on experience in our construction shed. This session has really inspired some of our students to pursue careers in the construction industry. What a fantastic end to an amazing week!
We are so grateful to all our employers who give up their time to inspire our Year 10’s for the In-house work experience group sessions. The feedback from the students has been really positive and last week’s activities and workshops have made a real difference by helping them to think more carefully about the type of career that will suit them as an individual. They have enhanced many skills, learned the importance of networking opportunities, built a stronger CV and gained a better understanding of the world of work. It also helped the students to explore different career paths, develop confidence, and gain a competitive edge in the job market by understanding the recruitment process. Some of the group have said how much clearer they are in knowing what they want to do after year 11. They have all gained confidence in speaking to new people and learned more about specific careers and pathways to achieve their career goals and much more.
Thank you also to everyone who hosted a year 10 student in their workplace!
Work Experience 2025
