After months of rigorous planning in this particularly challenging industrial climate, the event has been an amazing success and a valuable and memorable experience for all the students. They have returned to school motivated, some a little weary after some of the tasks that they have undertaken, but all have shared some fantastic opportunities that our trusted employers made available to them.

The placements were not only in Cumbria but in different cities in the UK, and in diverse sectors and working environments. For some students it was a first step in their chosen career path but for others it was a great grounding for the world of work. We have had so many wonderful comments and excellent feedback from companies about the work ethos of our students which embeds the pride we feel in working with so many talented, polite, and diligent young people. These students are our future, and we are privileged to be a part of that here in school, but we are so grateful that our employers have been able to share this journey with them. In the many tours, visits, and discussions that the staff made with the employers throughout the week, the response to the productivity, diligence and reliability of our students was overwhelming.

Work Experience is all about gaining essential skills that are transferable to the workplace and over 150 employers have certainly given our students a first-class experience that they will be able to take with them in their future career paths. Some have even been offered part-time jobs and opportunities of work after they leave school. This is something that we would never have expected but is something that they are extremely excited about and not to mention something for which we are superbly grateful. This experience would never happen without the continued support of all our loyal and long-standing employers and providers, so we would like to express our thanks to them once again. We have forged new employer links, and we are looking forward to collaborating with all providers on a whole host of Career events in the coming months in school, including our Mock Interview Day and annual Careers Fair in the autumn term.

The amount of praise and personal commendations are too numerate to record here but suffice to say, that we will be sharing the success, their experiences, and the efforts of all our amazing Year 10 students in their Achievement Assembly at the end of the spring term.

We remain indebted to the many employers for their continued support, without which, the Work Experience Programme would simply not be able to take place.

As ever, we are so immensely proud to have exceptional students here at UVHS who are always incredible ambassadors of our school and the community we serve.

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