On Friday 25th January, Year 11 students at The Marches School tested out their interview skills by taking part in mock interviews with 40 Interviewers, which including business owners and members from two Oswestry Rotary Clubs.
Interviewers kindly donated their time and expertise to provide over 200 mock interviews, lasting half an hour each for The Marches School Year 11 cohort, followed by a closing ceremony.
The interviews have been provided for The Marches School students for the past 7 years now, using a process and documentation previously pioneered by The Rotary Club of Wrexham Erddig. The experience of the interviewers guided the students to bring forward interesting and useful information which would be of interest to a prospective employer, and permitted valuable feedback and tips on how the students could succeed in future interviews.
Sue Leonard, Member of the Rotary Club of Oswestry, commented, “It was a fantastic day and we really enjoyed working with the students from the Marches School. We enjoyed helping them improve such an important skill in life. They seemed like such a determined group and we would like to wish them the very best for their forthcoming GCSE examinations and beyond”.
Linda Arthan, former member of staff at the Marches School and interviewer, added: “The young people really appreciated this experience and all benefited so much from the one-to-one interviews which allowed them to grow in self-awareness and to talk confidently about their strengths, whilst recognising what still needs to be done for their development. They all spoke highly of the support they have received from their tutors and their teachers and their opportunities whilst at the Marches School. It was a lovely morning – thank you!”
Mrs Sarah Peacock, Associate Assistant Headteacher at The Marches School commented, “These interviews prepare our students brilliantly for the real world where we all have to be interviewed at some stage in our lives. The students were nervous at the start but by the time they were finished, they were full of confidence. This valuable activity would not be possible without the kind support from the Rotary and local businesses and the school is grateful, as always, for the ‘real life’ opportunities these interviews offer”.
