Europa School Students Searching for Businesses to Help Save Work Experience

The Skills Week will take place during the last week of summer term, from Wednesday 30th June to Tuesday 6th July 2021, and will consist of several interactive half-day workshops that teach us the essential skills needed in different workplaces. Each student will attend multiple courses to gather a better understanding of the world of work as well as learning more about their strengths and increasing their awareness of potential employers in these areas. These courses can be for anything from basic lab skills, to business, to graphic design; and we are looking to local people and businesses to provide these interactive sessions.

Sam, one of the students organising this event, states: “It is crucial that we have access to such opportunities as we approach one of the most vital points in our educational journey. We need all the experience we can get to allow us to make an informed decision about how we continue with our careers and our lives.”

A report by the Center for Higher Education Research and Information found that in 41% of cases, skills gained during work experience played a major role in recruiting for first jobs[1]; which goes to show just how important this is for our futures.

Mrs Wood, Principal of Europa School, is proud of the creative efforts of her pupils. ‘To use the time in lockdown to create a programme which shows a passion and commitment to their futures is inspiring and I am hopeful that the local community will come together to help the students to deliver a superb Skills Week.’

Clara, another of the students on the organising committee for skills week had this plea, ‘We need businesses in the Oxfordshire area that want to work together with our school and inspire the next generation of hard workers. We’ve already been so lucky to work with and learn from Warren Brown from Brown Creative, Chaz Snell from The Plastic Goldfish Co, Catherine Warrilow from The Rank Group Plc. and Florence Corvez-Curtis in the planning process and we look forward to so many more opportunities.’

So if you, or someone you know, would be willing to provide a workshop in your/their area of expertise; please contact us via the Europa School website at europaschooluk.org or email careersguidance@europaschool.uk.

[1] https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/5171/1/rd17_02.pdf

Notes to Editor

• Skills Week to take place Wednesday 30th June 2021 – Tuesday 6th July 2021
• There is a video to accompany this available upon request
• Photo permission forms for all students quotes and photographed for this article are available upon request
• Careers Leader at Europa School is available for any further information or access to students l.powell@europaschool.uk
• All through school (4-18)
• Opened in September 2012 with reception and Year 1 and 2, a new school year was added each September until 2017 when the whole of secondary was incorporated
• Primary phase children are taught via two languages, English for 2.5 days and either French, German or Spanish for the remainder of the week.
• Secondary students are exempt from GCSEs and until 2021 their final exam is the European Baccalaureate, a broad curriculum of at least 9 subjects with humanities studied in a second language and compulsory mathematics and science. From Summer 2022 final year students will sit the International Baccalaureate.

Links

• Ofsted Inspection Report December 5th and 6th December 2018
• Europa School UK website