Trust News

Year 13 students from Sir John Lawes School strengthened their employability skills yesterday as they engaged in a highly valuable session on assessment centres. This key part of recruitment puts students skills to the test: students have to work as a team but also impress their assessors as they are given problem solving tasks to complete. This is an increasingly common part of the recruitment process, especially for students applying for degree apprenticeships, of which we have a growing number.

Students listened intently to expert Suzy Ross, from ASK Apprenticeships, about the rationale, how assessment centres work, and what recruiters look for. Students engaged in a few prioritising and communication tasks but then set to work on their main group task; they had to work in groups to plan their own music festival with a set budget and various criteria to stick to. Leaders within each group and some assessors fed back to the whole year group. Students were challenged but reported that they found the session extremely useful and feel more confident about the recruitment process now.