Year 10 pupils' world at work

Priory’s Year 10 pupils proved so popular in their work experience roles that many employers extended their stays. 

The pupils either went out to work for three days, at a placement they organised themselves, or they could take part in Zoom sessions with employers in school. 

Assistant Principal Mr Gee said: “This is the first time we have been able to do it in three years after Covid. We adopted at hybrid model this time where 70% of pupils went into a workplace and 30% stayed in school. 

“The pupils who went out earned a great deal of praise as brilliant ambassadors for the school so much so that, they had arranged to work for three days of the week and many employers extended it to five days. 

“Work experience is vital. The Department of Education set strict guidelines about making sure pupils are having careers experience and interactions with employers as well as college visits and so on so this is important.” 

Ben, who is thinking about being an architect as a future career, went to a takeaway restaurant ‘Roast’. He said: “It serves sandwiches and chips and so on and I was serving people and working with the till. It was a good experience for my first job although it was a bit difficult when it was busy. They said when I am 16 I can go back.” 

Ebony and Aimee returned to their former primary school Broad Oak.

Ebony said: “There were a lot of teachers still there who we knew so it was good. I was with Year 2 and the children read to us and we did jobs for the teachers as well as getting involved in a sponsored sports day. It has made me think about wanting to be a teacher.” 

Aimee, who looked after Year 4s, said: “It was a bit weird going back to the school we used to go to but the teachers were really nice. I want to go into acting, I am currently an extra in Waterloo Road and attend Mune Acting Agency. Teaching is a good experience for acting, standing up and speaking to children.” 

Megan went to the café, Cherry Pie Coffee & Co. She said: “I washed up, loaded the dishwasher, cleaned the tables – everyone was really nice. It was a great experience and I fitted in straight away. I want to go into computing but this helped with my customer service skills.” 

Jack went to Cop Lane Primary School. “I enjoyed it, it’s good to help people in different situations, it was rewarding. It reinforced that this could be a job for the future although I am also thinking about engineering.” 

Zoe went to Hallmark Post Office. She said: “I felt like I belonged there. I sold cards and stamps and worked in the gift shop, all the ladies were lovely. Working 9-5 was a bit stressful but I got used to it. I would like to go into criminology, be a lawyer or psychologist and maybe go into real estate in the future. I love ‘Selling Sunset.’” 

Fatima didn’t have to travel far – she went to work with the Priory PE department. “I want to be a physiotherapist but decided to try other jobs in sport. It was really good to be in the PE department here although it was a bit weird when pupils called me ‘Miss’. Everyone in the PE department was so welcoming and it’s interesting to see how much work goes on behind the scenes for every class. I didn’t realise there was so much planning.”