Fresh from running the London Marathon, Matt Batchelor and three colleagues from Network Rail led a fabulous Employability Skills workshop for our Year 12s. This included CV writing, tips about what employers are looking for and the opportunity to analyse cvs and identify strengths and weaknesses. Students were given guidance on how to prepare for interviews, particularly using the STAR technique, before taking part in mock interviews. The session ended with a Mock Assessment Centre where everyone was given a limited amount of time to prepare individual and group tasks, which were ones Network Rail use in their graduate and apprenticeship selection process. Each group was observed and feedback was given on how students met key attribute assessment criteria. They were reminded that it is the process that is being assessed, not the outcome and the Year 12s were complimented on their inclusivity, teamwork and leadership. This was a fantastic morning, that had been created especially for Thornton and will be of huge benefit to Year 12s as they start to prepare not only for UCAS personal statements, interviews and apprenticeships but also for future internships when at university and graduate schemes.
