Enrichment Week - Work Experience

Monday 18 July 2011

During the week beginning Monday 4 July 221 pupils in Year 10 (new Year 11) went out into the community on work experience. This is a fantastic opportunity for our pupils and we are pleased they have all gained valuable life skills and discovered new talents from spending a week in a different environment.

The Key Stage 4 team would like to congratulate all of our Year 10 pupils. They are a credit to Deer Park and we are very proud of them and their achievements. The work experience team enjoyed visiting them in their placements and commented on their maturity and confidence.

Headteacher, Chiquita Henson, who visited a number of pupils on site was impressed by how quickly they had adapted to new situations and their readiness to accept new challenges: ‘I was delighted to see our pupils actively engaged in a range of tasks. These varied from scrubbing up to observe surgery in a vet’s practice, showing prospective clients around potential new homes at an estate agents to programming software for an IT company and changing the brakes on a customer’s car in a garage! The reports from employers were incredibly complimentary and I am sure our pupils will be able to build on their experiences.’

Mrs Bowen, our Work Experience Co-ordinator confirmed, ‘The feedback from employers has been extremely positive and our pupils have helped us to forge even strong links within the community,’ and she advised, ‘A number of our pupils have been offered part time jobs following on from their week out of school, well done.’

Quotes from Employers:

‘The best work experience student I have had, and I have been running this programme for 4 years. Bright, articulate, questioning and creative. She was pleasant to work with and used her initiative.’

‘An absolute pleasure to have in our company. Very confident and polite to customers, and enthusiastic about the industry, so much so, we have offered her an opportunity to become part of our team, when she leaves school’.

‘Really good student, demonstrating appropriate degree of empathy and initiative. Welcome back anytime’.

Quotes from Pupils:

‘Excellent - what I want to do’.

‘Really interesting, learnt a lot. Having experienced the vet’s life I am keen to go to Vet School’.

‘I have enjoyed planning my own house’.
by Jane Bowen