This week Exeter was infiltrated by a swarm of Year 11 teenagers who had received work experience placements with businesses across the city.

St Peter’s C of E Aided School, Exeter had been urging its students to get work experience for months and after much nagging the momentous week has finally come and gone, with over 220 Year 11s going out on placements. Harry King, a St Peter’s student, writes about his experiences:

I went to work with Archant Ltd because I was interested in a career in writing, but was still unsure which path to take.

Working with the company I was given the task of writing articles based on certain subjects. One piece that I worked on was about events happening in Exeter this December and January. To produce this I had to carry out online research and create a short fact file. I then analysed the language and styles that journalists use to help me write a set of articles and in turn develop my writing skills.

As well as this, my supervisor, Deputy Editor Owen Jones, introduced me to the systems that Archant use to edit, upload and layout articles, images and advertisements. I was shown how to upload images and then had to email other organisations asking for pictures to go with my articles.

This allowed me to work on my communication skills as I don’t think I’ve sent so many emails before!

Once the words and images were uploaded they could be put onto the internet, publishing my first ever article.

The purpose of students having this opportunity to work with professional organisations was to give us a taste of a career that we were interested in and perhaps wished to pursue.

It provided a chance to learn new skills, such as speaking to customers and sending emails, and helped in understanding what an employer expects of an employee.

Kieran Gibson, a student who worked at the Met Office said that he’d improved his communication skills and learnt how to use specialist equipment.

St Peter’s School says: “Our aims are primarily for students to gain a greater understanding of the world of work and how businesses operate.”

Other students on the work experience programme worked with companies such as the Met Office, NPS Architecture, Sound Gallery Studios and Ashfords Solicitors.

Tobin Wooding, a St Peter’s student who went to work in IT at Exeter University, commented on work experience, saying: “It’s a helpful way of knowing what the future holds for you”

For Year 11 students this week was something new and different. Ben Gooddy described his placement at NPS Architecture as: “a diverse experience”.

The knowledge gathered during this week can help Year 11’s make the important decision on which road to tread and which career to aim for.