There were jobs for the boys, and the men, at Stevenage’s Thomas Alleyne Academy on Tuesday morning as the school staged a careers event with the support of local firms and businesses.
The Men@Work session for boys in Year 9 and Year 10 at the Old Town campus followed on from a successful ‘girls only’ event last year.
The pupils paired up and took it in turns to quiz architects, lawyers, policemen, journalists, and representatives from big names like MBDA Missile Systems and Glaxo Smith Kline – as well as members of their own teaching staff – to get a feel for the work they do and whether it might be for them.
Every two minutes the buzzer sounded and the boys moved on to the next visitor.
Teacher Nuru Islam, who put the event together, said afterwards: “The boys were buzzing after the event and listening in on some of the conversation made me very proud to be part of the day.
“Preparing young people for their future and helping them realise their potential is one of the highlights of my job, and it is fantastic to have so many members of our wider community take part in helping us to do this.
“The experience has already had a great impact and many boys are talking about the possibilities they might pursue in their studies now to lead them towards careers some of them did not even know existed before.
“Their aspirations are clearly already raised.
“There is no one way to do things when it comes to career routes and that is what we want our students to appreciate and take away from this event.”
There are already plans to repeat the event next year, and the Independent Womens Day is scheduled to be held for the second time next month.
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