Sixth Form

Year 12 Work Experience

All Year 12 students are provided with the opportunity to complete a work experience placement for one week in the Summer Term in an organisation or company that relates to the students’ potential career pathway or where they will be able to gain a valuable insight into the world of work and develop key employability skills. This will provide the students with an advantage when applying for university courses or apprenticeships and it will allow them to build a network of professional contacts which could lead to job security in the future.

Work experience is a valuable opportunity in a students Sixth Form journey and can positively challenge their pre-existing ideas of the workplace.

Your support in assisting them to find a suitable placement is immeasurable.

Dates for work experience

Monday 7th July – Friday 11th July 2025 (5 days)

Key Deadlines

Year 12 Work Experience Assembly – Friday 7th February 2025

Students to enter employer’s details onto the Unifrog system – Friday 14th March 2025

Employer confirmation to be received – Monday 28th April 2025

Parental confirmation to be received – Friday 6th June 2025

Please be aware that if the necessary confirmation for a student’s placement as of Friday 6th June and they have exhausted all resources available (family, friends, Unifrog etc.). They will need to make an appointment with Mrs Whitehouse, our Careers Advisor and they may complete a placement within school.

Finding a placement

The majority of students will secure a placement through links with family and friends and be contacting companies that have previously hosted another student on their placement. A list of the previous companies can be accessed by parents/carers and students via an announcement on Classcharts.

Email Example

Good morning,(Name if known),

Brief introduction of who you are and what you are asking for – I am a Year 12 student at St Francis of Assisi Catholic College seeking a work experience placement for week commencing 10th July at your company.

Explain why the placement will be useful and what qualities/skills you will bring to the company. Mention the company name within this section – After studying A level law, I am eager to work in the legal industry in the future and feel the opportunity to work alongside paralegals and solicitors at Walker and Co will give me real insight into the profession as well as help prepare me for my next steps. I would bring enthusiasm, a positive attitude and a willingness to learn throughout the placement.

Once you have a reply you can then explain that all you will need is the contact name and email of the person who will be responsible for your placement so that confirmation can be sent electronically to the school – I would be really grateful if you could reply to me by email if this is an opportunity you could potentially support me with.

Kind regards,

Name

Logging the placement

When the students have secured a placement and received a response for the company or organisation, they will need to complete the placement form on their Unifrog system.

Please access the link below for instructions

https://www.loom.com/share/77c923ee8f7c4b1e9c917f2ba1e0242a

The students will also need to reply to the company or organisation to explain that further information from the school will be request via an email from Unifrog.

Health and Safety

All potential placements are checked to ensure that they meet the appropriate health and safety requirements and have public liability insurance etc. Please be aware that if companies do NOT have Employer Liability Insurance or if they are sole traders they will not be approved.

Virtual placements

Over the past few years, a large number of employers have run virtual work experience programmes throughout the year, including during school holidays. Many of these virtual opportunities offer many benefits to students. Although, we do encourage all students to secure a face-to-face placement for their placement week and would only support a virtual placement if no alternative was available. We would advise parents/carers to be aware of any placements your son/daughter is signing up to as we cannot take any responsibility for the content of any online programmes and we would require written consent form the parent/carer to confirm that they are happy for their child to complete their placement virtually.

The following websites are useful for virtual work experience placements:

For any queries regarding Year 12 Work Experience please contact Mrs Whitehouse at Dwhitehouse2@stfrancis.cc or Mrs Shields at sshields@stfrancis.cc

Useful Links

St Francis of Assisi College