Brooke Weston Academy was delighted to welcome a selection of guest speakers to work with our Year 12 students during the annual residential week.

Suzanne Preston from the Safer Communities Team came in to work with our Year 12 students to discuss the hazards associated with alcohol and how to keep safe.

Students had the opportunity to test the ‘beer goggles’ that simulate the effects of alcohol on vision and perception, as well as discuss how they felt whilst wearing them. Suzanne also provided students with information to take away with them on alcohol safety and the effects of vaping.

Year 12 Prithvi Sharma said, ‘It was interesting and fun getting to wear the beer goggles and see how this can affect perception and vision. The leaflets provided by Suzanne with information on how alcohol affects the whole body were really useful.’

Unilever Research and Development apprentices Reuben Oladeji and Abby Metcalf also visited and provided insight for Year 12 into the range of apprenticeships on offer with Unilever, what a typical day is for them both and how to sharpen up on interview skills.

Post 16 Curricular Coordinator Mrs Hegarty said, ‘Reuben went into excellent detail regarding key questions to prepare for, that are classic interview questions and how to apply the STAR method when preparing responses. This insight will certainly help prepare our students with job and apprenticeship applications.’

Year 12 Maria Chaudhury said, ‘The interview tips and how to prepare was something I really liked, and I plan on using these in the future.’

Nick Cheese and Julian Salmon from the Sport4Life/NCS team also joined us during the week, providing students with the opportunity to participate in team-building activities. The purpose of the activities was to help students develop team-building skills and the ability to develop solutions to unfamiliar situations in a limited amount of time.

Mrs Hegarty said, ‘Nick and Julian really put our students through their paces with the team-building activities. It brought out previously unseen aspects of their characters, including a highly competitive edge, which was fantastic to see! They really began to appreciate the practical value of efficient yet effective communication with all members of their team, as without this it made it far more difficult to complete and win the tasks Julian and Nick had set for them!’

Year 12 Jake Dunnill said, ‘I enjoyed the different tasks we had to take part in today, they challenged us in ways that were different to what we had experienced before, and it was good to be made to think in different ways.’

Nick and Julian also posed a whole range of debate questions to our students including:

• Is social media harmful?
• What are the biggest pressures faced by people your age today?
• Would it be a good idea to lower the legal age to vote?
• Should women be allowed to play in Premier League football?’
• Would you rather explore space or the oceans?
• Would you prefer to go back in time or to the future?

Students had to justify and share their decisions on these topics with their peers, helping to develop their communication and decision-making skills.

Mrs Hegarty said, ‘Year 12 also experienced a selection of team challenge and trust exercises that really tested their problem-solving skills as well as leadership. Julian went on to explore different scenarios in the workplace and how these should be handled, as well as generic workplace expectations.

‘We would like to thank the Safer Communities Team, Unilever, NCS/Sport4Life and all of our work experience providers that have provided our year 12 students with experiences that really will shape their futures and help them make informed choices for their next steps.’