News & Headteacher Blogs

Walcott Hall was full of students last week for our annual Apprenticeship Awareness event. Employers and training providers from a number of different industries including the Army, Cisco, Vodafone, Newbury College, Remit, Cornerstone, BMW Mini and Bowmer and Kirkland were on hand to talk to students about the myriad of apprenticeships available for students once they leave school.

Manraj Jutla, Army Recruiter said: “There has been a lot of interest from students. We have seen students from mixed aged groups too, although you can’t apply for the Army until you are aged 15 and 7 months. Ninety eight percent of people coming into the Army do so through an apprenticeship. Different Regiments offer different skills and qualification, for example from obtaining your driving licence to doing a parachute regiment course.”

Sam Jesson, Learning and Engagement Lead at Remit said he was impressed with the students that he had met. “I have seen great enthusiasm from the students and they are open minded in that they have not yet got their future career path set in stone. They want guidance, which is great. Our company offer various courses and also helps promote apprenticeships in general.”

Sixth Form student Mia who wants to work in the Marketing and Events field in the future said she was considering an apprenticeship after leaving The Downs School. “This event has been really interesting,” she said. “I have visited Cisco, Vodafone and Newbury College and this event has helped me start to think more about my future.”

Another Year 10 student interested in Art and Design said she had also found the event really useful. “I am interested in Art and Design and I want these subjects to be part of my future career. I have been to see BCA, Cornerstone and the West Berkshire Training Consortium and found it really interesting.”

The Apprenticeship Awareness event is just one of a number of careers events organised at The Downs School including work shadowing for Year 10 and a work experience week for Year 12 students. Year 11 students have a taster day to introduce them to new subjects ahead of making their A Level and BTEC choices and there are guest speakers from industry in assemblies and off site visits to companies and institutions including Vodafone and Reading University.

Careers Lead Penny Allum said: “This was a really successful event and I would like to thank all the employers and training providers who took part. Preparing the students for future employment is key at The Downs School and our careers programme means that we cover all of the options for students when they leave us, whether that be going off to university, starting an apprenticeship, going on a gap year or entering the world of work.”