On Tuesday 1st November and Thursday 10th November, year 10 and year 11 had the chance to visit Computacenter Head Office in Hatfield.  Pupils were thoroughly impressed by the working environment. During the visit, they learnt what Computacenter do and which companies they work with. They also learnt about employment opportunities within the company and what Computacenter are looking for in their employees.  Students had a tour of the warehouse and saw where much of the technology is created and repaired.  They also took part in a fun TikTok cybersecurity challenge. Computacenter have always supported us brilliantly in our Careers programme at the school, so we look forward to continuing activities like these in the future.

On Wednesday  7th December, year 9 had the opportunity to spend the day at F&F (Tesco) Headquarters at Shire Park in Welwyn Garden City.  The students were blown away with the facilities at the site and enjoyed spending the day in their conference centre.  Students met a range of employees at F&F who shared their journey to the company; they also had the chance to ask a range of questions.  The students loved being a part of a busy work environment for the day and even got to get their free meal-deal lunch from the Tesco Heart Express store.  Tesco arranged some lovely interactive activities for the students: One student won a £15 gift card for knowing the most about Tesco and another student won a 'Design a Christmas Jumper' competition.  Her prize is that F&F will now make her design into a prototype jumper for her to keep.  We are delighted to have had this opportunity and look forward to working with F&F and Tesco again in the future.

On Thursday 19th January, Linda and Jay from F&F (Tesco) came to visit the year 9 students to present our winning designer with her protoype Christmas jumper.  Once again, students were full of enthusiasm for the company and asked fantastic questions, including 'When can we go back?'

A huge thank you to Linda, Jay and the team for a wonderful opportunity for the Knightsfield students.

During National Apprenticeship Week (6th - 12th February), pupils had an assembly with ASK Amazing Apprenticeships where they learnt about Apprenticeships and T-levels.  They also engaged well in a House Competition which included a scavenger hunt around school and an online Blooket challenge and a Wordwall game.  The final number of questions answered correctly by each house were:

1st Place - Cattermole - 1081

2nd Place - Haddock - 938

3rd Place - Antrobus - 510

4th Place - Clarke - 366

Congratulations Cattermole House!

On Friday 24th February, the year 10, 11 and post 16 students got a chance to attend the Welwyn & Hatfield Careers Fair at the Fielder Centre in Hatfield.  There were over 50 employers there, as well as colleges, universities and training providers.  Pupils really enjoyed the experience and engaged well with the employers.  They asked lots of great questions and got contact details from employers they would like to contact in the future for work experience placements, apprenticeships and jobs.  One of our pupils won a £10 Tesco voucher for answering all questions correctly at the Tesco stand.  The Careers and Enterprise Company have invited our students to be part of a feedback panel for the event to inform future Careers Fair in the area.

During National Careers Week, pupils had an assembly to develop their awareness and excitement about their future pathways.  In addition, pupils in years 9,10 and 11, had an assembly with James French from Sporting Futures.  Sporting Futures (founded in Hertfordshire) are an innovative, dynamic company, driven by a desire to create opportunities and raise aspirations for 16-24 year olds.  They offer apprenticeships (mostly in Sport) which develop, empower and equip individuals to succeed and achieve positive outcomes in both life and work.

On Monday 20th March, the year 8 and 10 students had the opportunity to visit the University of Hertfordshire.  They had a tour of the De Havilland campus which included a sneek peak inside the full-scale courtroom.  Students learnt about the range of courses available at university.  They also learnt about the support available from the Disability Team at the university and they got to have a session from the Physics Team in the pop-up Panetarium.  In addition, the students each got a wonderful selection of goodies from the university to help them remember their day there.  The students had a fantastic day with comments from them including:

"The trip made me really think about my future and consider going to university"

"I think the hall of flags is great because it makes everyone feel of welcome"

"I loved the planetarium - seeing the zodiac signs and the stars moving around"

"I enjoyed exploring the university .... it was really fun and I lot a lot about Space and Mental Health support at university"

"The staff were really welcoming and helpful, as they made me feel like I would fit in there and made me feel comforted"

"I hope we get to go again"

On Friday 24th March, two Support for Schools Advisers (Viv and Liz) came into school to work with some of our sixth form students.  They worked with them on interview skills and talked to them about their CVs and how to improve on them.  The students engaged excellently in the sessions and were extremely positive about them afterwards.  We look forward to welcoming the Job Centre Plus back into school in June for a range of workshops with the rest of the school.

On Wednesday 28th March, Jacquie Gascoigne from the Careers and Enterprise Company came into school to present one of our students with a £10 voucher from Tesco.  The prize was awarded  to the student for answering all questions correctly at the Welwyn & Hatfield Careers Fair. 

On Thursday  30th March, Lauren Christie from Sky Studios came into school to share information about Careers in the Creative Industries and at the new Sky Studios in Borehamewood.  Lauren led an assembly with pupils in years 9 - 11 and then ran a workshop with pupils in years 10 -11.  Pupils had a chance to be one of the first to see the virtual tour of the new studios and to hear about new film Wicked currently being filmed in Hertfordshire.  Students thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and engaged well throughout.  

On Tuesday 18th April, Sarah Wigmore from Oaklands came to Knightsfield to deliver an assembly all about the college.  She talked about the range of courses on offer, the facilities available, the differences between school life and college life and about the upcoming open evenings and tours.  Pupils asked a range of excellent questions and were really keen to find out more.  Many are now planning to attend the upcoming events.