Work Shadowing

All Lower Sixth pupils will take part in the school’s work shadowing programme, spending a week in employment during the final week of the summer term.

In order for this to be a useful experience, pupils will be fully involved in the process: speaking to staff, family and friends about potential placements; contacting employers to discuss the possibility of spending a week with them; and reflecting on their experience by compiling a report on their week. They will have the support of their tutors and other staff in doing this.

The benefits of this scheme are many. It allows pupils to:

• Make confident initial contacts with the world of employment in a supported environment
• Test out particular career areas for themselves
• Make contacts that may lead to informal mentoring, internship during university years, or graduate employment
• University admissions tutors regard relevant work shadowing as a positive sign of an applicant’s commitment and, for some degrees, it is vital component of the application. We would advise any pupils planning to read a vocational degree (medicine and other medically orientated degrees, dentistry, veterinary science, teaching, law, business or finance) to check university websites for specific work experience requirements.