St Bernadette’s take on the world of UX
Earlier this term, Bristol WORKS supported an exciting Work Experience Taster session between BJSS and St Bernadette’s School. Year 10 students were invited to visit the BJSS office in central Bristol where they learnt all about the world of User Experience and UX Design!
We kicked off the session with an exciting tour of the BJSS office space which enabled learners to understand what flexible working spaces look like in real life. Alongside the open-plan workspace and modern break-out rooms, students were impressed to find an office ping-pong table and bowls of sweets dotted around the space! BJSS explained that these aspects of BJSS JSS contributed towards a positive working culture as staff teams are encouraged to manage their own time and crucially have independence over their working day.
Students then took a seat in the main meeting room where we were introduced to some of the BJSS team who took us through their varied pathways into the world of tech. Some had attended university whilst others had gained industry experience along the way before working at BJSS. One member of the team had even spent years travelling the world as a Diving Instructor before finding his role! It was valuable for students to understand the breadth of opportunities available to them after they leave education and to understand that there isn’t a right or wrong way to enter a specific career.
After a delicious lunch of take-away pizza, students were put to the test through the main activity of the day! The activity challenged our students to take on the role of a UX designer and utilise their problem-solving skills! Having been shown a poorly built website (made by BJSS staff), students had to consider the importance of inclusion and accessibility for prospective audiences. We learnt that websites could isolated groups of people if certain design features weren’t considered and as a group, we had a brilliant discussion about the impact this could have. Students did an amazing job and produced a comprehensive list of reasons detailing why the website wasn’t inclusive or accessible and provided a list of creative solutions!
We had such a wonderful visit with BJSS. Thank you so much to Paul and the team for providing a valuable insight into the Design and Tech industry and for showing us what office life can really look like! Students found the session to be incredibly beneficial and they left the session feeling much more confident about the future. Finally, a big thank you to St Bernadette’s staff and students for being so enthusiastic on the day!
