Students have been experiencing their first steps into the world of work after spending the week with employers from a range of industries across Warrington.  

From engineering to hospitality, Year 10s from Great Sankey High School gained valuable hands-on Work Experience and the opportunity to develop essential workplace skills.  

The week also helped students to understand the qualities employers value and prepare them for the next steps in education, training and employment. 

Throughout the week, students represented the school across a range of businesses and organisations including BDB Special Projects, ISS UK Specialist Electrical, Werfen, Penketh Primary School, Hey Little Cupcake, VR-EPS, Hope Plumbing & Building, Merseyside Mounted Police and NHS Blood and Transplant Tissue & Eye Services.  

This year's placements gave students the chance to experience an incredible variety of careers and employers were happy to share plenty of positive feedback about our students. 

Connor, who completed his placement with Chapman's Ground Maintenance, and Freya at Groomers of Haydock both received early praise, with employers delighted by the positive contribution they made to their teams from the very beginning. 

One of the standout reports came from Rushani, who completed her placement at Premier Retail Convenience. Her employer praised her friendly, polite and approachable manner with both colleagues and customers. She was also recognised for her confidence with maths, willingness to learn and positive attitude towards every task she was given. Her employer described it as "a pleasure" to have her on placement and believes she has a bright future ahead. 

Daisy, Lucy and Daniel, who spent the week at Westbrook Old Hall Primary School, also received exceptional praise. Staff described all three students as "absolutely fantastic", highlighting their enthusiasm and willingness to turn their hands to every task asked of them. The school was so impressed that they said they would happily welcome all three students back in the future. 

At Essity, Maisie experienced a range of workplace activities, including carrying out a hazard hunt within the converting facility and designing a Chemicals Safety poster that has now been proudly displayed on the company's Health & Safety noticeboard. 

Keira enjoyed a varied placement with The Riverside Group, where she spent time learning about large-scale housing developments and visited new-build sites to gain an understanding of how homes are constructed, while also seeing the finished show homes. 

Another fantastic success story came from Katie, whose placement at Two Brothers Coffee has already led to discussions about the possibility of a part-time job in the future which showed how work experience can create real opportunities beyond the classroom. 

We would like to thank every employer who welcomed our students, invested time in supporting them and provided the opportunity for our students to learn and experience the world of work helping prepare our young people for the future. 

We would also like to congratulate every Year 10 student who took part in this year's work experience programme.