Year 9 girls spent a day at the Porsche Centre Mid-Sussex for a careers event with a difference.

The day was hosted by Burgess Hill School for Girls and included pupils from Oakmeeds Community College in Burgess Hill, Oathall Community College and Warden Park School in Haywards Heath, Downlands Community School in Hassocks and The Towers Convent School in Upper Beeding.

Learning about Porsche

Pupils attended seminars at Porsche Centre Mid-Sussex

Pupils attended seminars with high-flying business personnel, including Greg Eastwood, the Senior Training Manager for Porsche across the UK, and Georgina Adams, the E-Marketing Manager.

Georgina Adams explains marketing

Greg inspired the girls with images of picturesque locations which serve as his “classroom” and workplace when he test-drives Porsches all over the world. Georgina explained the importance of her work for the Sytner Group as well as the benefits of working hard for a company.

Other speakers at the event included two former students of Burgess Hill School for Girls. Amy Harker spoke about her progression from a young woman in a role comparable to “the girl in the film The Devil Wears Prada” to her current job as a successful freelance PR Consultant in the Travel Industry and a writer for celebrity, fashion and beauty publications.

Speaker Amy Harker

Lucy Noakes spoke about working in a male dominated environment and explained her career path from University to her current role as a researcher for the Shadow Home Affairs team in the House of Commons.

Speaker Lucy Noakes

The fifth speaker was Stacey Lidgate, a Captain in the Territorial Army. She explained how much she loved her job and described her roles working as one of the youngest Officer Cadets in the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which included coordinating the Medical Corp to help injured soldiers in the Iraq war and carrying out humanitarian operations in Kenya.

Speaker Stacey Lidgate

The pupils were treated to a tour of the immaculate Porsche Centre Mid-Sussex, based in Burgess Hill, and took part in hands-on careers workshops at Burgess Hill School for Girls.

Touring Porsche Centre Mid-Sussex

The aim of the event was to show the girls the wide range of career opportunities open to them and was designed to inspire them to look forward to a University education and a graduate career.

Ann Aughwane, Headmistress at Burgess Hill School for Girls, said “We are delighted to have Porsche Mid-Sussex’s support for this initiative. This is the first of a series of events which aim to raise girls’ aspirations and support them in recognising the importance of making the most of their educational opportunities. The response from the girls was superb and we hope the day has been instrumental in convincing them to aim high now and in the future.”

A workshop on careers

19/03/10