Year 10 Work Experience Programme

Year 10 is an important time in the life of a pupil at Great Torrington School with lots of events taking place, one of which is Work Experience; an exciting week for pupils which we all take very seriously.

Pupils will receive dedicated support and information during their Citizenship and Careers lessons in order to produce a letter of application and CV to apply to an employer for a work experience placement. We strongly encourage pupils to arrange their own work experience enabling them to secure placements which match their area of interest and ability. Pupils who need help with identifying potential employers should be proactive in seeking help from Mrs Leonard, Careers & Employer Engagement Officer and take advantage of ‘drop-in’ sessions in the Careers Office.

Work Experience should help pupils:

• Make more informed decisions about career plans

• Work alongside adults as part of a team

• Understand what employers expect from employees

• Clarify their expectations and understanding of employment

• Learn new inter-personal, practical and cognitive skills

• Grow maturity and self-reliance and become more confident in their abilities

Grofar

The School have invested in a work placement tracking tool called Grofar. This system has lots of fantastic features to help ensure you have the best possible experience on your work placement. Accessing Grofar as a pupil is an important part of your work placement experience.

Currently enrolled students, please click this link and enter your school credentials to access the Grofar work experience platform.

By accessing the Grofar web-powered app you will be able to:

Access the details of your agreed placement

Log your work experience hours

Add reflective comments to consolidate your learnings of work experience

Review your placement

Once work experience is complete and you have done the above, you'll be able to obtain your work experience certificate

Take a look at our quick and easy guide for accessing Grofar below.

Please note: This is a web-powered app and so won't use your phone memory etc. Once you have signed in using your college credentials, you will get access in one click each time.

Hint! If you visit the website and create a shortcut on your Home Screen, it will be easier for you to access your placement details.

Employer Application Procedure

Some employers have asked pupils to apply in a certain way.

Please see the instructions below and look at their website to learn further about their businesses/organisations.

• Royal Devon Hospital Work Experience - NHS application. Deadline November 30th Hand into Mrs Leonard or email Gail Richards 
• Krempel (attach two documents 'Year 10 Experience handout and CV Guidance')
• Army - Please see Mrs Leonard to register your interest. Please note this will be a different week, so please find a placement for your allocated week
• CMTG - Please apply by sending CV to Mrs Leonard. School will forward to the company.
• RHS Rosemoor - Apply by attached application form and forward to contact relevant on bottom of form.
• Torridge District Council. Email CV & Cover letter to hr@torridge.gov.uk and advise what you might like to do and the area you are interested in. Then HR will then speak to the service to see if they can support the placement at that time.
• North Devon Council. Email CV & Cover letter to Organisational Development Team  and indicate which are interests you Human.resources@northdevon.gov.uk 
• Brends Hotel CV & Cover letter to amybrend@brendhotels.com Stipulate the area of work you are interested in and also which hotel and week you are looking for.
• Berry's Accountants Email CV & Cover letter to Mrs Joanna Berry joanna.berry@berrysaccountants.co.uk
• Active Torridge - Holsworthy, Northam & Torrington. Email D.langdon@activetorridge.co.uk or M.wright@activetorridge.co.uk
• Bluecoats Primary School - Not open to students who attended Bluecoats as their Primary. Contact Mrs June Smart for an application form JSmart@bluecoat-team.org

Could you offer work experience?

Is your business interested in supporting young people who are looking for work experience? Are you committed to engaging with your community and developing local talent and skills? Could you provide young people with a positive experience of the working world? If the answer to these questions is ‘yes,’ you should consider becoming a work experience host.

If you are an employer, have Employers and Public Liability Insurance, and would consider offering a work placement to one of our pupils, please contact me for further details. 

Louise Leonard  lleonard@gts.devon.sch.uk or call 01805 623 531 (ext 231)