Sandhill View have been celebrating National Apprenticeship week. This is a week-long celebration in the UK of apprenticeships as a careers pathway and in school we like to show our support and use it as a way to promote this incredible career pathway to our students.

School has been packed full of visitors across year groups, including alumni. Charlie Hutchinson came back to school to share stories of his current apprenticeship in Business with students during maths lessons. It was lovely to see Charlie and hear about how his apprenticeship is going and it is fantastic for our students to learn from him. We also invited Kate McHugh back into school from 2021. Kate completed an apprenticeship in marketing and is now working in marketing for BrewLab in Sunderland. She gave students powerful advice about apprenticeships and the recruitment process.

Throughout the week we have had sessions with Northumbria police. Students worked as apprentices analysing evidence and considering priority order and risk factors. They learnt the skills needed to work for the police and routes that they can talk. We have had sessions from colleges and career support companies who have spoken to students about levels of apprenticeships and entry requirements.

On Wednesday we invited Professor Ian Green into school. Ian received an MBE from the late queen for his work on apprenticeships. He worked on the early teams writing the framework and so is a specialist in the field. He gave students advice on how to apply for apprenticeships and what the recruitment process looks like.

It has been a week packed full of information, inspiring speakers and advice which we are sure will help our students on their own apprenticeship journeys.