A CAREERS fair that was cancelled at the onset of the pandemic returned to a North-East school to the delight of students.

Teachers at Polam Hall School, in Darlington, were relieved to reinstate the long-standing event this year, after lockdown precautions required them to restrict the number of visitors in recent years.

The Northern Echo:

The event was organised by Polam’s careers lead, Paul Robson. He said: “It’s great to have the careers fair back up and running, and to get such a great response.

“Preparing our students for the next step of the lives is a vital part of what we do at Polam, and we feel very strongly that careers education shouldn’t just be confined to just to Year 10 and Year 11. We’ve found students are thinking seriously about their futures as young as 10 years old, which is why we open up the careers fair to all students in Year 5 to Year 11.

“Giving them the chance to speak with real representatives from employers and colleges is a great way for them to get a flavour of what they might like to do when they leave us.”

The Northern Echo:

Paul put out the call for employers interested in exhibiting at the fair on Facebook and he was overwhelmed at the response. More than a dozen employers and colleges took part in the fair, including Middlesbrough College, Darlington Borough Council, The Northern School of Art and Design, EE, BL Training Academy, the Learning Curve Group, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, the British Army, Darlington College, Wilmott Dixon, and Donna Sandall Family Law.

The Northern Echo:

Konrad Miszke, in Year 9, hopes to put his artistic and linguistic talents to work after leaving Polam. He said: “I speak English, Polish, French, and I’m currently learning German, so I’m thinking of being a translator or an artist.

“The careers fair has been really helpful in giving me an idea about where I could go after Polam. I haven’t made a decision yet, at the moment I’m trying to choose between Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College and the Northern School of Art.”

The Northern Echo:

His fellow Year 9 classmate, Sam Crosby, doesn’t share Konrad’s uncertainty about picking an industry – he knows exactly what he wants to do.

“Trains,” Sam said with a grin. “I’ve wanted to work with trains since I was five. Ideally I’ll become a train driver, but I’d also be happy working in a station. I started volunteering at Bishop Auckland train station last year to get an idea of what it involves, and I love it.

“The careers fair has been great – I need computer science and maths qualifications, so I’ll definitely be going to one of the colleges, so it’s great to have so many here today so I can explore my options.”