The BIG Futures Show 2024

On Tuesday of this week we took 36 of our Year 9 students to The BIG Futures show.  This is an annual interactive and inspiring careers fair, in it's 7^th year, run in conjunction with Eastbourne Borough Council and takes place at the Eastbourne Sports Park.

We left Chailey just after roll-call and made our way to Eastbourne.  Upon arrival we were shown into the main exhibition hall and where students had the opportunity to receive expert advice on the world of work, careers, further education and training, volunteering, work experience, self- employment and meet people from a cross section of sectors.

Sectors represented at The BIG Futures Show

Construction & Built Environment, Education & Training, Finance & Business Services, Health & Social Care, IT, Digital & Creative, Land Based & Environment, Leisure & Tourism & Culture, Manufacturing, Installation & Maintenance, Public Services, Retail & Enterprise, Science, Engineering & Tech, Transport & Logistics and Volunteering & Work Experience

Students attending had completed a short workshop in school on Monday which enabled them to get the best out of the morning.  They were encouraged to speak to as many people as they could and it was wonderful to see our students fully engaged and immersed in the event.  There were lots of interactive displays and our students got themselves stuck in, as you will see from the photos!  

Our students looked the smartest out of all of the schools attending and it was great to see them all talking confidently to the exhibitors and engaging with them.  As I moved around the event, I was able to witness lots of great career conversations taking place between our students and the exhibitors and employers. There was lots of buzz about the whole event on the coach on the way home as well as lots of chatter about the goodies they had all collected during the morning!

We are delighted to add that today we received a wonderful email, sharing with us, how impressed with our students one of the exhibitors were:

I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to reach out and extend my congratulations to your school on the exemplary behaviour demonstrated by your pupils at The Big Futures Show in Eastbourne yesterday.

The pupils who visited our stand exhibited remarkable politeness and engagement. In an age where there is often much negativity surrounding teenagers, it was refreshing to interact with such respectful and enthusiastic young individuals.

Please convey our appreciation to the pupils their behaviour did not go unnoticed, and we are grateful for the positive impression they left on us.

What more can we say!  Well done to the Year 9 students who attended this event, a huge compliment to you all! Positive behaviour points have been awarded accordingly. 

If your student is currently in Year 8 and you are interested in them attending The BIG Futures Show next year, then please email gwickens@chaileyschool.org