Due to continuing Covid restrictions, this year our Year 10 students have been unable to undertake their usual week of work experience. Not to be deterred, we arranged a two day work skills event for them, including talks from a range of industries, work experience skills workshops, physical team building activities, and inspirational talks from hand-picked guest speakers.

On day one, students heard from Mr Hugh Graham, of The Bid Coach, who provided advice and tips on excelling during interviews. They also took to the school field for a series of physical team-building activities led by the British Army South West outreach team, who also gave an overview of the range of careers available in the army, outside of the traditional combat route. They completed enterprise challenges set by the Barclays LifeSkills team, including digitally designing and promoting a recyclable, eco-friendly water bottle. Finally, students completed a digital programme from Youth Employment UK, a not-for-profit social enterprise tackling youth unemployment.

On day two, our Year 10s split into groups to create a physical model of their design for a rehabilitated quarry. Led by Dr Gill Odolphie, the students had to then deliver a speech to convince the local council of the benefits of their scheme, answering questions from fellow students. We welcomed Ms Katie Vickers from Reading University, who spoke about some of the routes to entry and things to consider when choosing a university course, and Mr Nicholas Milrose, Enterprise Advisor. Students were also able to complete an online questionnaire to give them some ideas about future career routes that might suit them, based on their interests.

In the afternoon, we welcomed the following speakers, with students split into groups based on their indicated preferences for the sessions:

• Simon Crichton – Head of Relationship Management – Triodos Bank
• Sally Curtis – Deputy Head of School – Upton Noble Primary School
• Phil Davies, travel journalist and blogger
• Karen Dumine – Director – Hunter French Estate Agents (Bruton)
• Emma Miller – Accountant – EM Accounts
• Anna Sherrif – Clinical Nursing Manager – Delaware Veterinary Group
• Sarah Simms – Sexey’s School – PR
• Adam Thomas – Sexey’s School – Brand management

Commenting, Mr A Thomas, Assistant Head and Careers lead, said: “We designed the Year 10 careers fair to be a fun mix of practical and theoretical sessions to give our students a comprehensive introduction to the world of work. In a year when they haven’t been able to undertake their usual work experience placements, we wanted to make sure that they didn’t miss out on their careers work.”

Mrs W Watson, Independent Careers Advisor added, “The Year 10s have performed admirably over a tiring two days. Well done to everyone involved and a big thank you to all of the speakers who gave up their time to join us.”

To learn more about careers at Sexey’s School, or to view our regularly updated ‘Student Careers Area’, with information about placements and work experience on offer, please see: bit.ly/Careersupdates