Health Education England (HEE) is delighted to announce that four students from Pipers Corner School in High Wycombe have won the Step into the NHS schools’ competition for the Thames Valley and Wessex region.

Freya Gallagher, Cleony Booker, Zoe Fairmann and Christiana Hutchings impressed the judges with their entry to promote the role of a prosthetist. They created an informative poster, highlighting the qualifications, job responsibilities and skills required to be a prosthetist.

This poster, along with others beat more than 1,700 entries across the country, as the competition attracted record numbers of pupils to get involved and learn more about careers in the NHS.

Now in its ninth year, the competition aims to promote the 350 plus careers available in health and social care professions across the NHS and students were tasked with designing an advertisement and job description for their chosen role, working individually or in groups of up to four.

Helen Ness-Gifford, Headmistress of Pipers CornerSchool said:

“I am delighted that Freya, Cleony, Zoe and Christiana have achieved success in the Step into the NHS schools’ competition for the Thames Valley and Wessex region. Through our School Careers Programme we aim to equip the girls with skills for life and encourage them to explore the huge amount of options open to them when they leave school. Taking part in initiatives such as this are a fantastic way of gaining an insight into the world of work.”

Freya, Cleony, Zoe and Christiana said:

“We have learnt that there are so many diverse jobs roles involved in running a hospital, aside from doctors and nurses, and that the NHS is so much broader than we once thought. From cooks to phlebotomists, there are so many different jobs available. Whether you’re a plumber or a social worker, a cardiographer or an ambulance driver, there is a job for you in the NHS. Our group have also learned the details of a prosthetist’s job and how they can change people’s lives.”

Kelly Whitehead, Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership Lead and Tessa Candy, Associate Workforce Transformation Lead for Health Education England said:

“We’d like to congratulate Freya Gallagher, Cleony Booker, Zoe Fairmann, Christiana Hutchings and Pipers Corner School on their fantastic entry. Young people are extremely important to the future of the NHS workforce. It is important that the NHS engages with young people now and lets them know about the wealth of career opportunities.

“There are more than 350 different careers to choose from in health and jobs range from community matron, dietician or public health analyst to a finance manager or web developer. Initiatives such as the schools’ competition really help to raise awareness of this.”