NGHS6 Spotlight On: Year 12 Work Experience

Work experience gives Year 12 students a valuable head start, helping them explore career options while building confidence and real-world skills. Through a wide range of placements, students gain insight into different industries, develop key employability skills like teamwork and communication, and experience professional environments first-hand. It also helps them stand out—adding depth to CVs, strengthening applications, and demonstrating initiative. Along the way, they make useful connections and gain a clearer sense of their future pathways, leaving them more confident, informed, and ready for what comes next.

Our Year 12 work experience programme launches in October, giving students plenty of time to secure a one-week placement. The process is managed through Unifrog, making it easy to organise, track placements, and gather employer feedback while building each student’s profile. Students are guided through the system at launch and complete a reflective diary, including employer and school reviews. Unifrog can also be used to log additional placements completed during the holidays.

Employer Feedback Highlights WEX 2026

• Students made a strong impression, described as “a pleasure” and “a delight to host”
• Praised for “confidence,” “enthusiasm,” and a willingness to “get stuck in”
• Recognised for “professionalism,” “punctuality,” and presenting themselves well
• Valued for “supporting all departments” and being a “huge support to the team”
• Commended for “asking questions,” “showing initiative,” and bringing “fresh eyes”
• Some were described as “the best work experience student we have ever had”
• Overall, students were seen as “a credit to themselves and to the school”

Take a look below at the wide variety of work experience placements students undertook, students had the opportunity if they wanted to, to travel far and wide and these reflections highlight just how valuable these diverse opportunities were…

Grace W and Izzy M

We spent our work experience observing cases in the public gallery at Stafford crown court and Telford Magistrates court as we are interested in criminology and forensic psychology. The first 2 days we spent in Stafford where we observed a case of Coercive behaviour and Unlawful Strangling which we later discovered he was not guilty of. This was particularly interesting because we heard a witness statement and heard the closing statements from both prosecution and defence. The jury then went to deliberate their decision. During our time at Stafford, we also observed a sentencing for a murder that has been in the media recently. This was very interesting as we heard about mitigating and aggravating factors that determine a sentence length. However, on both cases, we were sat with family members which was the most challenging part of the experience as their emotions were clearly visible. On Thursday we travelled to Telford which deals with lower-level cases and here we learnt that often cases are dismissed due to a lack of police presence during trial. This seemed to be something that could be overcome very easily for justice to be served adequately. On Friday, we returned to Stafford where we listened to a sentence for assault in which evidence was shown and a sentence of 3.5 years was given. Here, it was interesting to understand how a delay in trail and prosecution can lead to a small reduction in sentence length. Overall, our experience was very interesting and largely enjoyable as well as cementing our ambitions for the future.  

Elisha B

During my work experience on Ward 112, I had the opportunity to observe a hip replacement surgery, which greatly inspired my future career aspirations within healthcare. I found it fascinating to watch the surgeons work together to improve a patient’s quality of life, and I was able to follow the patient’s journey through recovery afterwards. This experience helped me to develop empathy and compassion, as I learnt the importance of communicating effectively with patients and understanding their individual needs. I also observed a consultant diagnosing different bone fractures and creating personalised treatment plans for each patient, which showed me the importance of patient-centred care and decision-making in medicine.

In addition, I helped support a patient in receiving the correct pain relief medication when they were unable to take paracetamol due to kidney stones. This experience allowed me to build confidence and strengthen my communication skills when speaking with doctors and other healthcare professionals. I also observed nurses taking blood samples and learnt how urine samples are tested to identify possible infections. Throughout my work experience, I developed important skills such as effective communication, teamwork, confidence, professionalism, and a deeper understanding of how healthcare professionals work together to provide the best possible care for patients.

Izzy W

During our Year 12 work experience week, I was incredibly lucky to get the opportunity to complete my placement at Mclaren Automotive, located down in Surrey at the Mclaren Technology Centre which is also home to Mclaren Formula One team. Throughout the week, I shadowed multiple different people across various departments, spending an hour or so with each person and learning about their role and their day-to-day jobs. I was primarily there with engineering in mind so most of the people I spoke to were from this area, however I also met employees from sales, interior design, project management and more! What I found most interesting, was learning about how people from across the business work closely together and collaborate a lot to create innovative cars that provide the best customer experience. The week allowed me to see which areas I found most interesting, as well as giving me the opportunity to speak to someone from the early careers team about internships and graduate schemes and even speak to successful candidates who gave some great advice. A highlight of the week was definitely getting the opportunity to sit inside and be driven in a McLaren and meeting Formula One Driver Lando Norris! Overall, the week was an amazing experience, giving me loads of insight into how this high-performing brand works, and the connections I made will hopefully help me at some point in my future career. 

Anna W

During my placement at Royal Stoke hospital, I shadowed multiple workers within the healthcare sectors such as doctors, nurses and physiotherapists. I learnt about their key roles within patient care and was able to ask questions about their journey to their career, how they trained for their role & their daily responsibilities. What I found the most interesting was how passionate & supportive everyone was of each other, as the NHS is not just made up of doctors but a multitude of roles which all contribute to the best quality care for the country. Many healthcare workers said that the most rewarding parts of their job was visibly seeing patients improving through treatment and showing resilience, illustrating how healthcare workers can come together & make a difference, helping the lives of millions. I am extremely grateful to everyone who has supervised me and allowed me to take part in this placement, and I recommend to anyone interested in healthcare to do work experience at any hospital as it has provided me with much insight into my future career & the NHS.

Kate T

Over my work experience week, I was lucky enough to gain valuable hands-on experience at Cuan Wildlife Rescue, a busy rescue centre in Much Wenlock. I had the opportunity to work with an amazing range of species, from tiny robin nestlings to badger cubs and even a grey heron, which helped me develop both confidence and practical skills in animal care and handling.

During the week, I helped handle and feed injured and orphaned animals, while also monitoring their condition and behaviour to make sure they were recovering well. The volunteers and staff were incredibly kind, supportive, and knowledgeable, always willing to teach me new skills and answer my questions. Despite having a very eventful week, it definitely wasn’t all glamour! A large part of the job involved preparing food, cleaning pens and aviaries, and helping keep the rescue running smoothly behind the scenes.

Regardless, my entire week was such a positive and rewarding experience, and I’m extremely grateful to all of the staff and volunteers at Cuan for giving me the experience. It was definitely one of the highlights of my year and gave me a real insight into zoology and wildlife conservation, an area I hope to work in one day.

Sophie W

During my Year 12 work experience placement at Lanyon Bowdler, I gained a hugely valuable insight into the legal profession and the day-to-day responsibilities of a solicitor. I was fortunate enough to observe private client meetings, latest legal enquiries and even help to assist with administrative and legislative tasks; such as drafting my own witness statement, letter of claim and developed an understanding of how different legal cases work and how they are handled. From partners to newly qualified associates, each solicitor who I worked alongside provided such constructive advice for my next steps onwards for myself to aspire to a career in law. Throughout my week, I worked in numerous departments within the firm including; private client, medical negligence, personal injury and dispute resolution – areas of law that really solidified my passion. Overall, the experience helped me develop confidence, communication and critical thinking – all the skills that will be paramount to my future as an aspiring Lawyer.