Our Year 8 students took part in a varied and thought-provoking Drop Down Day designed to support their personal development, wellbeing and future aspirations. The day offered students the chance to step away from their usual timetable and immerse themselves in a series of interactive, hands-on workshops designed to develop confidence, curiosity and life skills.

The activities included:

• Careers Detective – students met 27 employers from a wide range of industries, learning about the world of work and guessing each guest’s profession. Employers included Lockmetal Ltd, Canal & River Trust, Jet2, Jolt, Meech International, One From the Heart Theatre Company, Rebellion Developments, Siemens Healthineers and SWJ Consulting
• Restart a Heart – led by the South Central Ambulance Service, students practised CPR and learnt how to use a defibrillator
• Healthy Eating with Abbott Diabetes – an interactive session exploring nutrition and how blood sugar levels respond to different foods
• Dance Taster with Studio Fit – a high-energy workshop showing how movement can boost wellbeing and confidence
• Creative Wellbeing – an art-based session encouraging self-expression and reflection

The event was part of our ongoing commitment to helping students learn essential life skills and explore future possibilities in a supportive, engaging environment.

A collaborative effort

The day was a genuine team success, supported by teaching staff, external visitors and volunteers.

“The guests were so impressed with our students, and the students did themselves proud,” said the Head of Personal Development. “It was lovely seeing our Year 8s learning new skills and engaging with such a wide variety of tasks and new people.”

Outstanding employer feedback

Feedback from visiting employers was overwhelmingly positive, praising the organisation, student engagement and professionalism:

“Extremely well organised.”
“The students were polite, well-behaved and genuinely interested.”
“Great engagement with pupils – ran to time and brilliantly managed.”

Visitors particularly enjoyed the Careers Detective format and valued the opportunity to share their experiences with such enthusiastic young people.

Suggestions for next time included providing question prompts to help students build confidence in critical thinking and a short overview of each role to support future GCSE choices.

A day to remember

Head of Personal Development and Citizenship, Louise Humm said:

“I want to say a huge THANKYOU to everyone who was involved at any stage or at any level with the Drop Down Day this term. Our guests were so impressed with our students, and the students did themselves proud. It was such a lovely day seeing our Year 8s learning new skills and engaging with a wide variety of tasks and new people.”

The event perfectly captured the spirit of Bartholomew School — inspiring futures, nurturing confidence, and helping students to thrive both in and beyond the classroom.