Share Your Spark 2024: Year 9 Students Shine in Career Exploration Project

For the past few months, our Year 9 students at Oulton Academy have been engaged in an exciting careers initiative called Share Your Spark 2024. This program, designed to broaden their career horizons and boost self-confidence, brought together students and volunteer professionals from the Trinity Centre Leeds and the White Rose Centre Leeds.

At the start of the project, students articulated their career aspirations through detailed forms, which were used to pair them with mentors from the partnering centres. This mentor-student collaboration formed the foundation for a series of dynamic workshops aimed at enhancing team working skills and envisioning future careers. Students created mood boards to map out their ambitions and filled out booklets to outline the steps towards achieving their goals.

One of the program’s highlights was a behind-the-scenes tour of the Trinity and White Rose Centres. This eye-opening experience gave students a first-hand look at the intricate operations required to maintain a professional retail environment.

The project culminated in an inspiring final session where students presented their forward-thinking ideas to the leadership team of Landsec. They proposed innovative concepts for the evolution of the retail industry and discussed what future shopping experiences might look like. Following these impressive presentations, the group celebrated with cake and refreshments.

Well done to our Year 9s for showcasing remarkable leadership, motivation, and respect throughout the Share Your Spark 2024 journey.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Ahead Partnership staff and the volunteer mentors from Trinity Centre Leeds and White Rose Centre Leeds. Your dedication and guidance have been invaluable, serving as an exemplary inspiration to our students.