Work Experience

Work experience

Sixth Form students at Steyning have undertaken Work Experience (WEX) successfully for many years and many have gone on to work for the company they have done their placement with, even on occasion, beating university graduates to a place!

The Sixth Form WEX programme allows students to gain an insight into the type of work they are considering for the future. WEX provides a more sophisticated look at work, rather than just an experience of working, which many students may already have in part time employment. We aim to gain placements with/for students in the type of career they are considering for their future. This is becoming more important for certain university courses such as veterinary or teaching as students must complete a placement in order to gain a place at university. This is equally valuable when applying for apprenticeships or the world of work.

If students have no idea what their career path is yet, (and many don't), then WEX is a great way to try out something they are interested in generally: it might be the spark they need to follow up later for a career; it helps develop self-confidence and build a CV with proof of skills that employers are looking for; it will also be used by tutors writing references and students writing personal statements for University or job applications. Occasionally, students decide after their week that they are no longer interested in a particular industry and this proves why WEX is useful as it can help young people save time when applying for further education or training. 

We hold our WEX week during the transition period between Year 12 and 13, which is normally a week in June. All students in Year 12 are expected to take part. We launch this in the Autumn Term of Year 12; we give students  guidance and time to secure a work experience placement independently. Once a placement has been agreed the paperwork is all  completed on Unifrog which makes it an extremely smooth process.