There was a buzz running around the Sports Hall throughout the first ever Year 8 Speed Networking event. We welcomed 7 employers to the school from amongst the parents, support services, governing body and external employers. Students were divided into teams and they had to ask the employer questions to try and guess what their job was. We had a police officer, a football coach and a packaging designer among the group! The students were given a limited amount of time and had to move on as soon as the whistle blew. It was great to see how competitive they got and how well they engaged with the activity, thinking up interesting and insightful questions and collaborating effectively in their teams.

When asked what they enjoyed most about the session, Amelie D in 8L said “Hearing people’s opinions on different jobs.” Charlie K in 8A added he particularly enjoyed “Getting to meet loads of people and seeing how many interesting jobs there are!” Finally, Molly P in 8H found she gained a better “understanding of what courses and qualifications each job needed.”

One of our parent volunteers said “I thought it was a great concept, it was very well organized, the kids were engaged and from what I could see enjoyed the experience.”

Damian Hill, an external volunteer who came to us via the Surrey Careers Hub said “Thank you for organising the event yesterday, which I did find enjoyable. I also would like to express my thanks to the children who participated. I could tell some found quite it daunting, some were quite forthcoming and others who were interested and engaging. A few little things I noted from a select number of children was that they read my name tag and greeted me personally. Once their time was up, they thanked me and said to have a great day. As I was waiting in reception for another employer, a couple of children recognised me and said hi. It’s those little but memorable things that will help them go a long way in life.”

This shows just what a great impression our students made on the volunteers and how well they did in representing the school.