Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Email: comments@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01235 520202

Vale of White Horse District Council

My account of work experience at the Council by Sam Palmer

When I started my work experience I was so excited but also very nervous, I had been offered the place by someone at my school and thought it would be a great opportunity to have two weeks working with the Sports Development team. A few months before my first day I had been to an interview at the Council buildings near Waitrose in Abingdon, this meant I knew who I would be working with and to discuss the aspects of work I could be involved in. I think this was really beneficial because I felt more relaxed about going on my first day and also more excited because of the type of work. 

Sam Palmer

On my first day I was to start work at 9.30am and be dressed in smart casual which I had been prepared for. When I arrived I reported to the front desk and the lady there was very helpful, giving me a visitors badge. She told me to take a seat and the lady I would be working with would be down shortly. I sat in the chair very excited and anxious about what the day would entail. I then met Jo Paterson, the lady who would supervise me, and she gave me a tour of the building. The first day I was to stay in the office and help sort out the summer brochures into sets for individual schools in the Vale of the White Horse.

The next day I came in ready to deliver the brochures to 15 different primary schools near Faringdon. We got them all done in just over three hours and I learnt a lot about what the job entails from a first hand source. The day went very quickly and I finished by doing a bit of office work before planning my day tomorrow. The key aspect of the job I was looking forward to was coaching sports in schools, and I did a lot of this over my first week and have been into many schools doing different sports. The Youth Games was coming up the weekend after so it was good to be involved with the coaching of individual teams because I would be there on the day. 

On the Friday I was going to be involved in a small "Wimbledon" event with another coach called Chloe, held in Cumnor Primary School. I enjoyed this a lot because I have played quite a bit of tennis before and was looking forward to seeing the children develop their skills. When we got there a few other coaches were present so we could divide into groups and set up a net and small exercises. To do this job you have to be very interested in sport because you are constantly working with it and be able to communicate with others easily as you are faced with new people regularly.

Over the whole two weeks I have enjoyed every aspect of the job and think I have got a good understanding of what the job entails. I think I would like to do a job like this in future and I am planning to do coaching courses when I turn sixteen. The people I have been working with have been very kind and friendly to make my visit as good as and beneficial possible. The staff gave me a wide variety of things to do so it did not get boring and I hope to do work like this in the future. I have had a great time and would recommend it to anyone willing to do a job with sport.