A local academy is appealing to the wider community to offer work experience to students exploring career options.

The Sir John Colfox Academy in Bridport is calling for businesses, charities, public sector organisations and other workplaces to offer week-long work experience placements to Year 10 pupils, helping them to explore different career paths and aim high.

The school requests placements take place at the end of March 2024.

Michael Thompson, Head of Careers at the Sir John Colfox Academy, said: “We have a wonderfully supportive community in Bridport and we already have a range of great work experience placements, but we are always looking for more opportunities to offer our students.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for businesses and workplaces to give something back to our community and to inspire the next generation to join them in their field.

"Our work experience programme is very successful, and our students have previously succeeded in achieving offers of paid work or apprenticeships. This has been fantastic for them and for the workplaces they have joined.”

The high quality of careers education at the Sir John Colfox Academy was recognised recently when it won the Dorset Careers Hub 2022/23 Mainstream Secondary Schools and Colleges Category.

The hub congratulated the school’s careers service for attaining all eight of the Gatsby Benchmarks for Careers Education – a government framework for providing the best careers provision in education.

Any business or workplace interested in finding out more should contact Michael Thompson, Head of Careers, at the Sir John Colfox Academy, via email: Thompsonm@colfox.dorset.sch.uk or office@colfox.dorset.sch.uk