The Year 11 Interview Day offered students the chance to experience a ‘real-life’ interview with a representative from the world of work and to work on their employability skills and interview technique. Prior to the day, Year 11s used their PDP sessions to examine the skills required for work, research career choices and to produce CVs and letters of application. On the day itself, each student benefited from an individual mock interview and feedback on their performance from our interviewers.

The event is supported by the Education Business Partnership, and this year the organisations interviewing the students included AWE, Barclays, BWB Technologies, Gardner Leader,  Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Horsey Lightly, Infineum, Network Rail, Priors Court Foundation, Royal Air Force, TEK Systems, Tutoring Company, University of Winchester and Vodafone. It was fantastic that the volunteers also included former St Bart’s students, Hozan Edwards (B2B Technologies), Ellie Evans (AWE), Sabrina Luck (Vodafone), as well as Lois Ryan and Beth Parker (both from Gardner Leader) – now passing on advice to the next generation of St Bart’s students!

The feedback from students was fantastic. Here are just some of the comments:

• “It has given me a greater understanding of what is expected at an interview, what to prepare and what to say.”
• “I think this experience has helped to make me feel more confident about interviews and given me a better understanding of the interview process.”
• “Extremely useful, I learnt a lot and I didn’t need to be so nervous.”
• “It was a great first-time experience and I will be more confident knowing what to expect for next time”
• It was incredibly insightful, enjoyable and helpful in learning about the interview process.”
• “I really enjoyed it and found it useful as I now know how to act and what to talk about. I feel really confident and prepared for the future.”
• “Very positive, I had a lovely interviewer who made me feel more confident!

The following day the school hall was buzzing with Year 7, 8 and 9 students exploring the many job roles represented at the annual Careers Fair. Amongst others, these included armed forces, air traffic controller, architect, audiologist, broadcaster, buyer, cyber security advisor, customer service manager, designer, doctor, electrician, estate agent, journalist, lawyer, marketer, musician, occupational therapist, paramedic, plumber, policy maker, radiographer, solicitor, stud manager and youth worker.

Students chatted to volunteers about their day to day responsibilities and tasks and then completed a specially designed booklet to record their conversations. Following the discussions, students then spent time in tutor sessions reviewing all they had learned and their experiences.

“It was really interesting to speak to the Architect. I really enjoy design and he gave me lots of advice about what to study and spoke about how he gained qualifications and got started with his own studio.” Holly and Florence (9E2)

“We enjoyed speaking to Joe from the Armed Forces. He explained how his work involved lots of travel, sport and adventure activities like canoeing – it sounded great.” Adam (8C1) and Charlie (8E1)

“I chatted to the lady from Careers in the Arts and learnt all about their workshops. I’m an Expressive Arts Rep and so I feel really passionate about getting involved with these subjects.” Martha (8E3)

The Careers Fair is a key event in our wider Careers Education Programme and a fantastic opportunity for students to ask employers in person any questions they may have, such as why they chose their career?, what it is like to do their job?, what is their favourite part of their role?, and how did you get into your job? St Bart’s is so grateful to all our visitors for giving their time so generously and for their wonderful encouragement of our students. It was great to have such a range of jobs represented and also that, as with the Interview Day, so many former students were involved in supporting the Careers Fair. Our alumni included Alex Blake (sales consultant), Jeanette Cheeseman (planner) Tom Cole (cyber security advisor), Jonah Hood (apprentice), Melanie Mildenhall (customer service manager), Aidan O’Neill (paramedic), Archie Perks (lawyer) and Joe Seward (doctor).

Our Careers Programme is all about ensuring that students are informed and inspired about a wide range of opportunities, that they have meaningful encounters with employers and that they are prepared for future pathways – whether this is further education, an apprenticeship or employment. If you are reading this article and thinking that you might be interested in supporting these events in the coming years, please do email our Careers Lead, Mrs Seward, who will add you to next year’s contact list (dseward@stbarts.co.uk).