At Sidcot School, we believe in preparing our students for life beyond the classroom. That's why our comprehensive Careers programme includes a dedicated Work Experience Week for Year 10 students. This term, our students embraced the opportunity to dive into the professional world, gaining invaluable insights and hands-on experience.
For many, this week was a chance to "test drive" a potential career path, confirming passions and clarifying future ambitions. Others used the time to explore new fields, letting curiosity guide them as they discovered hidden strengths and interests. Whatever their individual goals, every student gained a clearer understanding of how their skills align with various careers and industries, as well as which academic pathways might best support their aspirations.
This early exposure to the working world is a crucial step in helping our students envision their futures and make informed decisions about their educational journeys. We're incredibly proud of their proactive approach and the diverse experiences they embraced.
Here are just a few of the stories from this year's work experience cohort:
Name: Doruk, International Boarder
Company: ByAltınel Organisation
"I did my work experience at ByAltınel Organisation, where I helped during concerts and even had the chance to perform on stage. This was an unforgettable experience that gave me real confidence and showed me what it’s like to work in live events. I learned how to communicate with a team, handle stress, and stay organised during busy moments. Performing in front of a crowd also helped me grow personally and professionally. I returned from Turkey just for this opportunity, and it was worth it. This experience gave me clear career ideas — I plan to work again in summer and maybe continue in this field in the future."
Name: Aurelie
Company: Saddle Tramps
"Georgia and I cared for the horses and got them ready to ride for their clients. It showed how many avenues you can go down that include working with horses. I enjoyed working in a very different setting to usual, however the weather could get quite extreme. There were come challenges and it was tiring and slightly stressful but was still fun."
Name: Jim
Company: Café33
"For my Year 10 work experience, I worked at a small café called Café33. It’s part of the hospitality and food industry, and they serve food and drinks to customers, with both inside and outside seating. It’s quite a cosy place and can get really busy, especially during lunchtime or when the weather is nice.
While I was there, I worked as a waiter. My main jobs were taking orders, serving food and drinks, clearing tables, and keeping everything clean and tidy. I also helped restock things like napkins, cutlery, and sugar pots. At first, I was a bit nervous because I didn’t want to get anything wrong, but I got more confident as the days went on. I had to work quickly and stay focused, especially when it got busy.
I learned quite a lot during my time there. One of the biggest things was how to speak to customers in a friendly and polite way, even if they were a bit rude or difficult. I also learned how important teamwork is; everyone had their own jobs, but we had to work together to keep the café running smoothly. It also showed me how tiring it can be to be on your feet all day and how important it is to stay organised and calm when things get hectic.
I got better at multitasking, time management, and being responsible, like making sure I turned up on time and did what was expected of me, even when I was tired or not enjoying it. The experience gave me a good idea of what it’s like to work in a real job and deal with real customers.
Even though there were parts I enjoyed, like talking to friendly customers and working with the other staff, there were also times when I didn’t enjoy it, especially when it was really busy or stressful. I’m glad I did the work experience because I learned a lot, but it also made me realise that I don’t think hospitality is the industry for me. It helped me figure out more about what kind of job I might want in the future, which is really useful."
Name: Blake
Company: Yeo Valley
"My work experience was at Yeo Valley. Although I didn’t get to do much practical work due to, if I messed up a batch of yogurt that would be about a ton or more of waste, I did a lot of shadowing which definitely confirmed that engineering is what I want to do. For me, I got to go and see how it all worked and understand all the different parts, but the main takeaway was that it confirmed what I wanted to do."
Name: Marie, International Boarder
Company: Destination Canada
"I went to work for a travel agency called Destination Canada. I did a lot of different things, for example, I had to create an Excel spreadsheet and do research. I didn't like it that much because it was a bit boring at times. What I did like was working with the people there; they were all very nice. I learned from my work experience that I don't want to work in an office, but rather a more active job."
Name: Emma
Company: CBRE
"I went to CBRE for work experience because I thought it would be interesting, but I got ill on the second day so I didn’t have a lot of experience. In my work experience, first someone showed me the company and all of the rooms and then some people explained to me what they were doing, and I could also listen in to some meetings. I think the job can be interesting when you actually know what to do and aren't just listening in. From that experience I learned that I don’t want to work in an office all day and that I want to do a job which has more diversity and is not the same every day."
Name: Selina, International Boarder
Company: Trachsel AG
"I went to the company Trachsel AG, which is a road construction/civil engineering company. During the 4 days of work experience, I worked as an accountant, secretary, and manager. I liked exploring the different types of jobs this industry needs, but when I did accounting and secretary work, I was mainly sitting and typing. I went to a meeting on how to construct a road, and from this I learnt it was a very complicated thing to do, because you need to have the agreement of the owner, municipality, and you need to calculate a lot. I think this career isn't really something for me, but I liked getting to know everything there and the job opportunities"
Name: Alexa, International Boarder
Name: Marion, International Boarder
Company: VIP Guardians
"We did paperwork, organised invoices and receipts by date and in A to Z order. We learned how to be more organised and it gave us financial skills."
"I think I wouldn't do it in the future as I didn't enjoy a full day of it" - Alexa
"I would like to improve my business skills, and maybe study business in the future" - Marion
Name: Fabiana, International Boarder
Company: Winscombe Primary School
"For my work experience, I went to Winscombe Primary School. I did work experience for two days, and each day I did different tasks. The first morning, I worked with the kids in Reception. First, I helped to teach phonetics and observed how they learned, then they had time to play and do some activities, so I painted with them. After break, they had PE lessons, so I helped with the activities. Then they had music lessons, so they were learning with songs. After that was lunchtime, so I was helping in the Refectory to set the tables and helping the kids. In the afternoon, I was with kids in Year 4, and I helped with class tasks and when they had doubts. At the end of the day, I helped pack away. The next day, they were planning a school play, so they asked me to help with the costumes and background, and I also made some decorations, then I helped kids in Year 3 in their PE lessons and their afternoon lessons. Finally, I helped to plan future lessons.
For my work experience, I really liked working and helping with little kids because I think they are really happy, and they can adapt really easily to everything. What I disliked about it was that I needed to walk 20 minutes to get there and 20 minutes in the afternoon to get back. I learned that if you want to work with little kids, you need to be patient. For my career ideas, I’m not really sure, but it has helped me to see that I really enjoy working with little kids, so if I wanted to work as a teacher, I would definitely work with little kids."