Learned Beyond the Classroom | The Blue Ties

Issy and Edie reflect on their Year 10 work experience at Gorse Hill Studios, sharing honest thoughts on creativity, confidence, friendship and stepping into a working environment for the first time. From social media design and reception work to discovering new skills and future possibilities, The Blue Ties captures two young voices learning beyond the classroom.

Creators and Guests

E

Guest

Edie

Year 10

Producer

George Bailey

George is a theatre director and producer working across audio and live performance.

I

Guest

Issy

Year 10

Producer

Katie Mason

Katie Mason is an artist and the Inclusion and Disability Manager at Gorse Hill Studios.

What is Learned Beyond the Classroom ?

A new podcast created by work experience students at Gorse Hill Studios. Real conversations about work experience, future careers, and the hopes, questions, and dreams shaping what comes next.

Issy
When my school informed me that we were going to be doing a week of work experience wherever we choose, I was so excited!
My mind immediately went to a studio, or something arty and fun, to reflect my general idea for my future. When my mum suggested Gorse Hill, I knew it would be a perfect fit.
When I started, all the staff were so kind and welcoming, and made the change from school to an actual working environment so much easier! This week has been such an amazing experience for me, and I'm happy I can share it with you.
At the start of the week, I was looking forward to working in an arty, expressive place, but I was still a little apprehensive, as I didn’t know what to expect. But, after seeing the behind the scenes of Gorse Hill Studios, I felt a lot more confident.
Doing my work experience with a friend certainly helped the whole thing run smoother, and it really helped my creativity and confidence flow.
Some of the amazing tasks we carried out included creating a social media post to advertise an upcoming event happening at Gorse Hill, helping in the organisation of the studio’s art room, and we even worked in the studio’s reception area. The variation of the tasks we completed showed me how varying the industry can be, and every part of working in such an inventive place.
I thoroughly enjoyed creating the social media post and being given the creative freedom to do that task. Being given this individuality really helped my confidence and the development of new skills, such as how to work as a team, and general ability to carry out tasks. These skills will be so helpful in later life, and for that I'm very grateful.
This fantastic opportunity has allowed me to learn new things about myself, such as how much i enjoy creativity and working with others.
I would really love to keep going with creative jobs and continue performing when im older, and i would like to keep doing what makes me happy, and what i enjoy. I hope to keep doing and learning new skills and things, to leave all my opportunities for creation open. Overall, i have enjoyed my time at Gorse Hill so so much!
Thank you very much for listening, and i hope you enjoy the rest of this episode!

Edie
My name is Edie and this is my experience!
After being told by my school we had to do work experience I was slightly worried
about being unsure of what I wanted to do as it seemed that loads of the people
around me already had everything planned out.
I spent ages trying to find a place that would suit me but would also end up teaching
me things that would benefit me later in life so when I came across GHS it sounded like
a great choice that would offer both.
Leading up to the first day I was feeling a bit nervous but excited as I had never
experienced a work-like environment before - let alone one like Gorse Hill - so I wasn't
quite sure on what to expect but after arriving I was pleasantly surprised by what I was
met with. The staff were all very welcoming and the atmosphere was super relaxing.
Throughout the week we helped out around the studios taking on various tasks and
also created posts for social media. It was super cool to see the behind the scenes of
this from the eyes of someone who doesn’t really have any past in design or media.
What I enjoyed the most about my time I spent here at Gorse Hill was all the creative
freedom we had and the amazing environment.
Going into this week I was really hoping to improve my communication skills as I am
quite a quiet person and I do think that it has helped my confidence by making me
meet new people as well as forcing me to put myself out there with this podcast!
I am super grateful I had this opportunity..
and although I am still unsure of what I'd like to pursue in the future careerwise, I think
that this past week has really helped open my eyes to a whole selection of options I
hadn't considered before.
Thank you for listening to my section of today's podcast - I hope you enjoyed hearing
my work experience story