Last academic year, Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College hosted Helena White for her placement year as part of her Law degree at Leeds Beckett University to enable her some more experience before graduating. Helena reflected on her experience of working at Notre Dame:
"Originally, I had spent weeks applying for placements with law firms, so when one of my lecturers emailed my cohort about an opportunity at Notre Dame, I thought I might as well give it a go! I hadn’t really considered working in teaching before, let alone in a College with students not far off my age, but I was open to trying something different. I had studied A-level Law myself, so I knew how challenging some of the topics could be, and as the eldest of my siblings, I’ve always enjoyed helping and looking out for others. After talking it through with my parents, I decided to apply - and I’m so glad I did!
Most of my placement involved working with the A-level and BTEC Law students. I helped with one-to-one and small-group sessions, explained topics they were finding difficult and helped them with their exam technique. One of my favourite parts was being able to take something I had learnt myself at A-level and explain it in a way that made sense to someone else. It also really helped me become more confident when speaking to groups and taught me how to adapt the way I communicate depending on the person I’m working with. I also got involved with something I definitely didn’t expect - coaching netball, a sport I played back at home! I worked alongside the netball coach, helped out with coaching and went along to games. It was a really nice change from the academic side of my placement and gave me the chance to get to know more students and staff outside of the classroom. Alongside my weekly tasks and sessions, I also got involved in the College's extracurricular activities, including creating an enrichment Mock Trial, assisting on trips to places such as the Magistrates' Courts and Leeds Beckett, and promoting the College on open days. The best part of the whole experience, though, was definitely the people. I built some really lovely relationships with both the staff and students. It was so nice to become someone that students felt comfortable coming to, whether they needed help with their work or just wanted someone to have a chat with. That was something I found incredibly rewarding.
I learnt so much more from my placement than I ever expected. Although being a chatty person, I definitely became more confident, especially when speaking to groups and meeting new people, developing my communication and professionalism along the way. It also taught me a lot about time management, organisation and being adaptable. Every student is different, so sometimes you have to change your approach and find a different way of explaining something. Most importantly, I learnt how rewarding it is to be able to help someone else - especially when it came down to my students achieving brilliant grades! Being able to use my own experience of studying A-level Law to support students was really special, and I know the confidence and skills I’ve gained will help me throughout my future career.
Post-university, although it’s only a year away, still somehow feels rather far away! Over the next year, I’m hoping to gain some more work experience in the legal field and get a better idea of what area of law is the right fit for me. I’m particularly passionate about family law, so that’s the area I’m hoping to go into in the future. That being said, after my year at Notre Dame, I definitely won’t be ruling out teaching completely!
After completing my time at Notre Dame, I was awarded the Leeds Law School Prize for Placement. This award was a reflection not only of the first-class final grade that I achieved for the placement module at university but also of the hard work and effort I put into the past year. I was fortunate enough to be able to celebrate with Leeds Beckett staff, other students who had won awards, and legal professionals who had funded the event and prizes.
I want to say a huge thank you to the staff at Notre Dame for the unforgettable and valuable time I had at Notre Dame!"
It's been fantastic to have Helena helping our staff and students. We couldn't be prouder of her in achieving the Leeds Law School Prize for Placement. Have a great final year Helena!
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