Sunny Shirehampton High Street School Trip

On a rare dry day in this wet Bristol winter, five lucky Year 7 students from Oasis Brightstowe Academy took a trip to sunny Shirehampton High Street to explore local businesses and careers just a stone’s throw away from their school.

After a short 10-minute walk, the students started their visit at Shirehampton Village Vets. They were greeted by the team who introduced them to the different roles in a vet practice including the vet surgeon, vet nurse and receptionists who, as the students learnt, all work together as a tight knit team across the day.

The practice had kindly arranged for the students to explore the consulting and operating rooms, showing them the equipment they use and answering the students’ excellent questions.

Next, we walked a couple of doors down to Goodman and Lilley Estate Agents where students were welcomed by the Branch Manager who helped them understand the different roles within the business. Students took on the role of Estate Agents and were given client scenarios, tasked with finding a property to suit their needs. Here they learnt the importance of communication as a key skill required to work in this sector.

Our final stop was Magna Pharmacy at the opposite end of the high street. The Manager and Pharmacist welcomed the students and took them through the process of making up a prescription, including taking a look ‘behind the scenes’ at where the medicines are stored and prepared for patients. Students learnt that Pharmacists have to be incredibly organised and good at teamwork to do their job.

Across the morning, students learnt about the key transferable skills required to work in each sector and that a lot of these skills were similar for these customer facing businesses.

When asked about which aspects of the visit were most useful for the young people, the school commented ‘Finding out that there are a variety of roles in each setting, but a lot of the same skills are needed in which workplace’.

The school also commented that ‘visiting businesses in their local area and that they use frequently’ helps the young people feel more positive about their futures.

A huge thank you to the businesses who took part, who were incredibly welcoming and accommodating throughout the visit.