Year 10 Work Experience

Year 10 work experience was launched at Year 10 Parents Evening back in the Autumn Term and seemed to feel very far away then! But it soon came around and students, parents and staff were doing everything they could to practice the skills we had been learning. We mapped our networks to look at unlocking opportunities that we previously couldn’t see. Some parents, for example, offered a placement to a friend of their son or daughter because it matched what that student was interested in. In fact, here is Jamie B. at his friend's dad’s workplace editing a real film! We had lots of other Year 10s doing exciting things with Film too - Jack, Jediah and Rose to name…

Year 10 work experience was launched at Year 10 Parents Evening back in the Autumn Term and seemed to feel very far away then! But it soon came around and students, parents and staff were doing everything they could to practice the skills we had been learning.

We mapped our networks to look at unlocking opportunities that we previously couldn’t see. Some parents, for example, offered a placement to a friend of their son or daughter because it matched what that student was interested in. In fact, here is Jamie B. at his friend’s dad’s workplace editing a real film!

We had lots of other Year 10s doing exciting things with Film too – Jack, Jediah and Rose to name a few. This is exciting as the creative industries now account for over £90 billion each year of the British Economy, and are growing faster than any other sector.  It is also the creative industries that are most protected from automation. Other creative work experience placements included Art galleries, Lots Road Auction House and the Design Centre.

We had so many ‘stars’ of Work Experience this year that I can’t mention them all by name but Mehdi’s skills at speculative applications were so good that he was offered two great placements on the same day! As you can see from his picture here he chose to work at Marsh and Parsons Estate Agency in Hammersmith- the first step on his way to becoming a global real estate magnate. He offered the other placement to Ebed who gratefully accepted and really enjoyed his week at Santander bank in Chelsea.

As a Science Specialist Academy we had lots of students in STEM career placements.  James and Rayan worked for Saudia Airlines and had the time of their lives. They are no doubt going to apply themselves to excelling in the Sciences to work towards a career in Aeronautical Engineering or even Pilot Studies. We had Pedro and Hafsah at the very important ‘Thames Tideway Tunnels’ Engineering project which will change the face of London as we know it. And our future medics were at a number of exciting places – working in the ever growing care sector, many local pharmacies, and with charities raising awareness of medical conditions.

Many of our students are excited by the thought of a career working in the city, and lots of our year 10s were able to experience that. Sakhawat and Thalia were very brave to head to the imposing Canary Wharf for their placement with international bank, ANZ, for example.

Upon their return students were guided by learning coaches to write thank you letters and produce a presentation on their experiences. Some of the best will be presented to the new Year 10 next year to get them thinking about how exciting work experience can be.

Every year, without fail, students come back from Work Experience with greater ambition, new skills, and a renewed enthusiasm for achieving the best grades they can to help them succeed in life. We are very proud of our Chelsea Academy ambassadors, who made such an overwhelmingly positive impression on businesses across London. Thank you for all the help you gave them at home to find placements, and being well prepared for them. According to their feedback, it does make a difference!

Mrs McNally
Head of Year 12 & 13 / CEAIG Coordinator