I found the work experience to be a very good learning experience. Whilst doing the week I learnt HTML. This is something that I have wanted to learn for a long time but have never had the chance.

This week has shown me how different working in the real world is compared to school. The working day is longer and I now feel that the school hours are much easier to cope with. I am quite pleased with what I have done this week and I will leave with new skills which I can use to get a job when I am older, maybe doing some web design.

Even though the work load is harder than school here, I feel that the fact that you have a choice when you take your lunch break (1 hr between 12am and 2pm) is a good idea and would be good if it was incorporated into the school day.

I have met a lot of new people working here and they are all friendly. They have shown me where everything is and helped me if I needed help. One thing that I liked was the fact that you didn't have to stay in one place at dinner and that you could go out wherever you wanted.

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When I went on Work Experience, so did the rest of my friends. This section is going to be about how they found their week in the real world.

Ben Voutt has been working at a Sports shop. He says that it has been quite an enjoyable experience and that he has liked working with people. although some days have been boring because the work was repetitive and time consuming.

Luke Craddock has been working in a Music shop. He says that he enjoys the job very much. He does all of the work that he is set very fast and the manager is so impressed with him that he has offered him a job there when he turns 16. He has also said that he finds the work challenging, but he enjoys doing it.

Tom Lapham has been working with a Building firm and has had to get to work at 7.45am. He likes the work even though it is not very easy. He likes it there because he says that they get regular breaks, but he is not sure if he wants to do it when he is older.

Luke Morgan has been working at an Architect company. He does not like it very much because he says that they have got him doing colouring in of a map all day and he is really getting bored of it. Also the people he is working with have not been helping with his queries.

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My advice to anybody who is about to do work experience is to get a place where you think you are going to enjoy working because you have to be there for the whole week. Another thing would be to go to the place before the placement time - this will give you a feel of the place and you will then have an idea of the sort of atmosphere that you will be working in.

Work experience is a good chance for you to figure out what sort of a job you would like to do in the future, so you can change your mind now if you don't like doing it.

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Here are some useful links about work experience:

• www.dfes.gov.uk - This Government (DfES) webpage has useful information about work experience in schools.
  
• www.doctorjob.com - Here you can look for jobs that suit you for Work Experience.
  
• www.wellsway.bathnes.sch.uk - This is a useful site for people on Work Experience, their parents and their employers.