H2U Vol 7 Issue 6 June 2008 - Highcliffe School

innovative, and enterprising
pitches- finally being
won by the ‘Homeless
Munchies Cookies’ (“Made
by the homeless for the
homeless”), who managed
to combined enterprise
with humour to produce a
winning performance.
Credit to all students involved
as they participated
fully in all aspects of the
day and in doing so managed
to extract a great
deal from it. A big thank
you to the Ballard students
and their teacher Mrs
Glover for taking time to
travel to Highcliffe. We
hope that they felt that
they had benefited from
the day. They were a
credit to their school and
we are already looking at
other ways we can extend
our enterprise partnership.
Also a big thank you to Mrs
Finch for all her hard work
in helping to organise the
day, to Mr O’Connor for
allowing the venture to
take place and to Mrs
Karanja for allowing us to
have use of the Sixth Form
Study area as this proved
to be an ideal venue and
was much appreciated by
all involved.
Report by Mr Callear
Business Studies
Interview Skills
Programme
We were delighted to welcome
a number of local
professionals from the
world of business and
council officials to Highcliffe
School to help us deliver
this important programme.
Following PSHE
sessions and an assembly
on application forms and
interview skills students
were invited to apply for
an interview. The response
was excellent and
the students rose to the
occasion. Feedback from
the interviewers and the
students has been extremely
positive and we
will build on this success
for future years.
A quote from
one of the interviewers:
“ ……..they
demonstrated
that they were
able to think on
their feet and
to explain their
reasoning.
They had interesting
ideas about what
they expected to be doing
in five years time and
see ways to achieve
those aims…..”
Here is a report from one
of the students who participated:
‘Year 10 mock interview
Halfway through P.E and
I was in two minds
whether to get changed
or to stay as I was. After
a little thought I decided
it was best for me to
change back into my
school uniform, I didn’t
think my interviewer
would appreciate me being
dressed in a polo shirt
and tracksuit bottoms! I
was a few minutes early
(extra points!) and I
waited patiently outside
the ‘large meeting room’.
I was a little concerned;
did it mean there was
going to be a large meeting
inside it? I was only
expecting one or two
people; I wasn’t expecting
a large room full of
people. Thankfully, the
door opened and Ms Kate
Stanton, a primary school
teacher at Highcliffe St
Mark’s Primary School,
greeted me. I shook her
hand (as instructed by
many people previous to
the interview) and sat
down. We went through a
number of various questions
such as “Do you have
a part-time
job?” and
“Where would
you like to be
in 5 years
time?”. I answered
as best
I could and
was congratulated
on my
positive and
friendly attitude.
At the end of the interview
I had gained the knowledge
of how to think on
my feet, when asked difficult
questions in an interview
situation. After the
interview, we discussed my
strengths and areas I could
work on for next time and
I left the room feeling
much more confident. Unfortunately,
all that thinking
and talking made me
hungry but fortunately, it
was pancake day, so off I
went to the canteen to get
some lunch!
I would like to thank Mrs
Stone and Mrs Dedman for
organising this very useful
experience and I would
encourage others to take
up the opportunity next
year.
Report by
Amanda Alexander
(Year 10)
Mrs Stone
& Mrs Dedman
Student Development
Team
Page 14 H2U, Vol 7 Issue , Year 10 Special - June 2008