Year 9 look at life beyond Priory

Priory’s Year 9 pupils spent a day learning about construction, the NHS and army jobs at our careers event on Tuesday.

The day was organised by Assistant Head Mr Gee, Head of Year 9 Mrs Bailey, and Inspira's Enterprise Co-ordinator Shaheen Gul.  Pupils spent the day moving between the careers workshops and their normal timetabled lessons in a carousel format.

The army came in to talk about their apprenticeships, the NHS discussed the many jobs within the health service, one of the biggest employers in the UK, while Preston’s College ‘Building Bridges’ chatted about the construction industry.

Mrs Bailey said: “The sessions were designed to give the pupils an overview of the different opportunities available to them. For example, there are more careers in the NHS than being a doctor or a nurse.

“Army instructors, who are based in Preston but have been all around the world, shared their experiences  while Preston’s College opened up about the world of construction, not just working on a site but managing building sites and so on.

“The pupils are considering their options so hopefully this will enthuse them and they can speak to their teachers about different career paths open to them and what subjects to take.”

In the army session, the pupils practiced problem solving, team building and skills and drills and Year 9, Jack admitted: “We were trying to put a puzzle together and it’s harder than it looks. It has made me think about careers and possibly joining the army.”

In construction, pupils had to build a bridge out of lego and each lego part was worth a sum of money and they had to do it as cheaply as possible.

Pupil George said: “You can earn more money than I thought in construction. It’s something to think about.”

In the NHS sessions, Robert Barton from Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, set pupils a task to streamline the way people book an appointments. He wanted pupils to think digitally, using a mobile device or social media and less paper, and also think about the jobs created and lost in the process. The workshop encouraged pupils to look at other professional roles within the NHS which were not just doctors and nurses.

Ellie said: “It made you think about careers and the different opportunities within each of the industries. I have learnt about the army, about construction and demolition as well as how the NHS is developing. I also learned what skill set I need for each of the careers.”

Grace added: “I would like to go into the army – or be an artist although the two are pretty different!”

Image right: The NHS workshop challenged pupils to come up with the most efficient solution to streamline the system from patients making an appointment to seeing the consultant using more digital means and less paperwork. Tyler, Alfie, Ciaran and Declan's group were joint first in their session.

Further careers events are planned for Year 7 (13 February), Year 8 (5 May) and Year 10 (27 March).  Year 10 pupils will also be undertaking their work experience w/c 30 March.