On Thursday the 16th of October, nine Year 10 students went to Cobbetts Solicitors in Manchester. They went in business dress; the boys wore smart suits, and the girls wore blouses, black skirts and neat cardigans. All looked the part and made a great impression from the start of what was to prove a long but productive day.

• But this wasn't the first time Manchester Academy has been a presence: last year, we visited Cobbett's twice, but this time was different, last time we had to wear uniform. Perhaps this reflects the maturity our students and the excellent impression last year's students made on this famous law firm.

• Also, it was fitting given the reason for the students' attendance. They were there for work experience, to get a real taste of the workplace. This firm takes recruitment seriously - the starting salary for anyone fortunate enough to land a training place there is £25,000 a year!
  
  As you can imagine there are thousands of would-be trainee lawyers beating a trail there but only a few can be chosen each year. Our students were extremely honoured to be at such an esteemed firm and ready to be put through their paces!

Each student had to pick a department to work in, the departments that were on offer were:

1. Marketing
2. Business
3. Law
4. Hospitality and Catering
5. Secretarial
6. ICT

In Marketing, a team of three students had two women from Cobbett's marketing department to tutor them. To start with, they were given a given a quick talk about what is involved in the job. After that, the students were assigned a task to arrange a birthday celebration for Manchester Academy.

• Each student was given certain jobs to focus on. Eleanor had to work on marketing (to let people know about the event); she had to find out prices for the posters and stamps.
  
  Herman had to find staff, catering and transportation for the day, (he also had to find the prices) while Ahmed had to find the location.

• When they had completed their jobs, they counted how much the event would cost, and started to practice presenting it to Rachel and Rachel and the presentation went really well.

Denico and Billawal picked Business - they got to learn a lot about the world of commerce. "Top marks boys!" - their mentors said that they were extremely impressed with them both.

The group of nine students had the opportunity to watch a real court hearing but even the best laid plans of mice, men and lawyers can go badly wrong.

The team had a guided tour around the building, and got so carried away with asking questions and just plain gawping in wonderment at the splendid building that they missed the court hearing! But fortunately, they get to go back in December.

Overall, they had a great day and they want to say a special thank you to the staff at Manchester Academy for taking them on the trip, and the Cobbett's staff that took their time to give our students a great time!

By Eleanor Blake

Click here to find out more about Cobbetts