When Kelsey first arrived at secondary school, she said she wanted to be almost anywhere else but there.
She struggled with friendships, clashed with teachers and often tried to avoid coming into school.
But after a week’s work experience placement at Whipsnade Zoo, in Bedfordshire, her outlook could not be more different.
She said it made her a “completely different person” – more confident, with a “good group of friends” and a greater sense of purpose about where her education could lead her.
Children across the UK are strongly encouraged to do work experience while at school. In England, the government published new legal guidance in June for schools to deliver two weeks of “in-person and immersive” work experience in future, one between Year 7 and Year 9, and one between Years 10 and 11.
But not all work experience placements are equal, and finding the right one can be tricky.
Organisations like the Sutton Trust and the Social Mobility Foundation said some students could be limited by the availability of placements in their area, or a lack of family connections with local employers.
BBC News spoke to three Year 10 pupils, one year ahead of their final GCSE exams, about how they decided what areas of work they were interested in, their experiences of trying to find the right placement, and what it taught them about their future education and ultimate career goals.
