U4 World of Work Day With QAS Alumnae

On Friday the U4 students took part in a World of Work Day. This gave the girls an insight into future careers that they may have an interest in, or some students even discoverd jobs that they never knew existed.   

The World of Work day follows the U4  GCSE Options Evening as they begin to think about their move into L5. Our U4s are currently in the process of choosing their GCSEs, and so both of these events are designed to help them make the most well-informed choices of their GCSE subjects.

In the morning, they completed a personal skills audit and the 16 personalities test, helping to assess their strengths and interests and to see what careers may be suited to them.  They took this knowledge and delved into finding more information about the jobs that would suit them as well as discovering famous people with similar traits that have become successful. They were then set the challenge of researching a variety of careers, such as Lexicographer, Graphic Designer and Cyber Security Analyst, to find out more about these careers and the routes into them. 

With the help of some amazing Fifth Form and Sixth Form students, Mrs McGrenary and Mr Stephenson spoke to our U4’s about ‘GCSE’s and beyond’ and ‘life in Sixth Form at QAS’. They shared some great advice on how to cope with GCSEs. Following this, Mrs Robinson lead a priceless session on budgeting and finance before the students went off to lunch to reflect on the morning. 

After Lunch Mrs Odell went through different ways to network, make an impression on interviews and to build professional relationships. This proved vital as the students would be practicing these skills very soon afterwards. 

Our last session of the day was one which the U4 girls had been looking forward to most: ‘World of Work Speed Information Session’ with Queen Anne’s Alumnae and friends of the school. Our U4’s were joined by former Queen Anne’s students and other professionals, all from different work sectors, including, criminology, engineering, HR, technology and the Music Industry. 

Students were put into groups and the speakers rotated around the room, spending time with all of our students. The students tried to guess the profession of the speakers and they were able to ask many questions. This was a valuable opportunity for our U4s to talk about their career aspirations, listen to stories and ask for advice from former students who have already walked in their footsteps. 

We would like to say a big thank you to all our Queen Anne’s alumnae who took the time out of their busy schedules to speak with the girls today. We have such a strong alumnae society and friends of the school and are very grateful to them for taking the time to visit. This is an event the students will remember for quite some time. A big thank you also goes to our staff members who supported throughout the planning and organising process of this event; From catering, to facilities who organised the floor plan to members of staff who gave up their time to get involved in the activities.