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Jet-setting pupils work it out abroad

18/ 2/2008

JET-SETTING pupils travelled as far as America and Pakistan to ensure they got the most out of their work experience placements.

Year 10 pupils at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School spent two weeks with an employer in order to learn all about the demands of a job.

And the youngsters pushed the boundaries to learn all about the world of work.

David Adams, 15, spent his time at the BAE Systems factory, near Preston, where the new Eurofighter was built.

He said: ‘I learned a lot from it. I am interested in the Eurofighter and military jets and thought it would be good to see them being built.’

Young crime fighter Alex Jones, 14, spent his work placement with four different branches of Greater Manchester police.

He said: ‘I spent two days each doing something different, such as grooming the horses. It was really good and I learned a lot from it.

‘Most of my family are in the police, so it is something I want to do when I am older, although I am not sure which area I want to go in yet.’

Young journalists Irha Yaqoob, 15, and Alex Peace, 15, spent their two weeks writing stories and learning all about the media world.

Irha flew over to Pakistan where she worked at a national magazine and CNN South East Asia.

She said: ‘I wrote two articles which were published. One was about the political situation in an area of the country and the other about social networking sites such as Facebook.

‘It was quite scary at first, but everyone was really nice to me. It is something I want to do as a career.’

Alex chose to stay a bit closer to home and worked at a local newspaper.

He went to court with reporters and had some sports and news articles published.

Fifteen-year-old Nishka Goorah also jetted out of the country, spending two weeks at her aunt’s dental surgery in Washington DC.

She said: ‘I welcomed all the patients and worked with the practitioners and did some office work. I enjoyed my time there and it was a great experience. Washington was really nice too.’

School worker Siobhan Robinson, who helped them find placements was delighted with the pupils.

She said: ‘They all did really well and I would say 90 per cent managed to find their own with no help at all.

‘All the employers I have spoken to have given us glowing reports. They have all done fantastically well.

‘They have done the school proud.’