Two ten-year-old friends are celebrating after being named national winners in a prestigious annual contest which promotes the NHS.
Alice Watkins and Charlotte Conway, pupils at Clifton-upon-Teme Primary School near Worcester, have scooped first prize in the ‘Step into the NHS’ primary school competition for 2023.
The girls beat more than 700 entries to win the contest, which highlights the wealth of career opportunities available within the health service.
Their project was a clever and entertaining animation featuring Lego figures. The stop-motion video tells the story of Eliza the paramedic and how she interacts with other NHS staff including porters, chefs and more. It also clearly carries the message that anyone can work for the NHS, regardless of their gender or background.
You can watch their winning entry here:-
To celebrate, the duo and their schoolfriends were joined by Josh Cotterill of West Midlands Ambulance Service, pictured with the girls, who was able to show them round the vehicle and explain the busy role of a paramedic for real. They also won Amazon gift vouchers.
Charlotte said: “Our inspiration came from the lessons that we did in school all about the NHS. We loved learning all about the different jobs and when we researched the paramedic role, we were fascinated to find out what their typical day was like.
“We also spoke to people in school and one member of staff had a friend who was a paramedic so we were able to ask some extra questions that helped us with our competition entry.”
Alice added: “We loved the NHS project as it opened our eyes to how important the NHS is to all of our lives and just how many people they help every day. It made us realise that any skill can be useful for a career in the NHS.
“We felt using animation would help people to understand the work of a paramedic much better and would maybe inspire people to become paramedics or work for the NHS in the future. We’re very proud to be national winners and hope that people enjoy watching our video.”
Step into the NHS is an exciting resource and school careers competition that raises awareness of the more than 350 career opportunities in the NHS, while supporting the career aspirations of young people in education.
As the largest employer in Europe, the NHS offers a job to suit everyone, no matter what their interests or skills are.
Dr Navina Evans, Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer at NHS England, said: “I think Alice and Charlotte’s video is just brilliant, and the voiceovers are fantastic! It’s fun as well as engaging, and really demonstrates that there’s a role in the NHS for all.
“Huge congratulations to the girls, and a big thank you to everyone who took part.”
Class teacher Claire Hughes said: “Here at Clifton, we want all of our children to have experiences that inspire and shape futures and this the third time we’ve been involved in the Step into the NHS competition.
“We feel it’s important for our children to explore a range of careers, challenge stereotypes and understand that whatever their skills and talents, there is a career for you. The children thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the project and we are all so proud of our national winners!”
For more details on how to enter the Step into the NHS contest next year, please see here:-
https://www.stepintothenhs.nhs.uk/
And for details of the many career possibilities the NHS offers, visit the NHS Health Careers website:-
