When Kelsey first arrived at secondary school, she wanted to be anywhere else but there. She struggled with friendships, clashed with teachers and often tried to avoid coming into school. Then came a week’s work experience placement at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire – and her outlook could not be more different.
“I realised why school matters, and how it links directly to the career I want,” the 15-year-old told the BBC. “I’ve started revising properly and putting much more effort into my education because I know it’s the route to my future.”
“Year 10 pupil Kelsey became 'completely different' after zoo work experience, now pursuing animal behaviour career.”
Kelsey said the placement made her a “completely different person” – more confident, with a “good group of friends” and a greater sense of purpose about where her education could lead. She had always loved animals, but spending time at the zoo helped her understand the range of careers available and the qualifications she would need to pursue them.
The practical nature of the placement also built her confidence. She worked alongside other students to design enrichment activities for a tiger, for example, before presenting their ideas to members of the public – something she said she would previously have found intimidating. “I wasn’t treated like a child, and I was trusted to do meaningful work,” she said. Kelsey now plans to study animal care at college after her GCSEs, before pursuing a career as an animal behaviourist.
For Maddison, another Year 10 pupil, her goal to end up in office-based work was clear from the beginning. She approached Central Employment North East, a recruitment firm in Newcastle where her uncle was a partner. “I’m quite a shy person,” she said. “Before I left, my mum told me:…”
Children across the UK are strongly encouraged to do work experience while at school. In England, the government published new legal guidance in June for schools to deliver two weeks of “in-person and immersive” work experience in future: one between Year 7 and Year 9, and one between Years 10 and 11. But organisations like the Sutton Trust and the Social Mobility Foundation said some students could be limited by the availability of placements in their area, or a lack of family connections with local employers.
The BBC spoke to three Year 10 pupils about how they decided what areas of work they were interested in, their experiences of finding placements, and what it taught them about their future. For Kelsey, at least, a single week at the zoo appears to have set her on a path she never expected.