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The warm greeting from our friendly host in the Norwich City Canaries’ shop was a welcome contrast to the bleak, drizzly weather of the day. It was Woodland View’s World of Work day at no other than Norwich City’s football ground! We were made to feel very special as we walked through the Executive entrance, up a flight of stairs, via the trophy collection, and up some more steps until we reached the exclusive VIP box with an awesome view of the stadium. Needless to say, we were all - students, coaches and teacher alike- very excited about our visit.
With the exclusive view of the grounds in front of them, students listened patiently and with interest (proven at a later stage of our visit) to the colourful and varied history of the club – how it grew, changed and gained prominence over the last century, with the help of business people, managers and footballers alike. Our knowledgeable host talked passionately about the club as if it were a story which seemed to really engage the students.
After much listening and patience, our next stop notched the students’ excitement up to the next level - a visit to the game room (a room used for birthday functions) - the Foosball table was an instant hit with the students, as was the décor and the various other games! After this, we moved on to the ‘behind the scenes’ part of the visit – interview areas in what looked like sparse storage rooms, and we were very privileged to visit the home team’s stylish changing rooms, just a few days before a match, where players’ shirts hung over each seat (ssshhh…we were sworn to secrecy over who would play in the next match!...not really but no photos allowed). After a much briefer visit to the guest team’s very bleak changing room, the contrast affecting the students interest and energy, we moved on to the media room where the students engaged as a group in some role play – as speakers and spectators – and some took the extra leap of confidence and enthusiasm to speak in front of the group as they were interviewed!
Our visit ended with a talk about the many different people and roles involved in the functioning of the club, the choices you sometimes have to make when you want to pursue a career path, and different work experiences you may need to undertake to find a role you enjoy. Our Woodland View students asked many questions and, at the end, they were split into two teams and were quizzed on what they had learned – I was very impressed by how much they had retained (I personally hadn’t as much)! That was the end to a very different and exciting WOW day.
Our World of Work days are an integral part of our Yes Futures programmes.
To find out more about the programmes and how we can support your students, please contact Sophie Bartlett: sophie@yesfutures.org
If you are a business that would like to hear more about how to get involved in our World of Work opportunities please contact info@yesfutures.org