Note: The companies involved in the process detailed below asked not to be mentioned by name. Instead, we have used Company A, Company B, etc. 

A degree apprenticeship is becoming an increasingly attractive option for Year 13 students planning their next steps. A degree apprenticeship involves hands-on training, earning a wage as an employee, combined with a three to four-year undergraduate degree gaining a high-level academic qualification. The chance of employment after the apprenticeship is also excellent. Understandably, to gain a place on a degree apprenticeship is very challenging – literally thousands of candidates applying for a very few places. When we found out that Matty Partridge, Year 13 student at Richmond Sixth Form College, had received offers from not one, but two British companies, we had to find out more – read on! 

RSFC: Typically, though less so nowadays, Year 13 students who want to continue their education apply to university through UCAS – why did you choose a different route? 

MP: I did that too, as a backup, but I’ve always been a practical learner – doing practical stuff is the way I learn best. A lot of my academic understanding has come from the physical application of a process, and that’s what degree apprenticeships offer – doing a degree alongside a proper job. Also, my dad did an apprenticeship with Esso Petroleum and his first two years were at based in AERE Harwell Apprentice school (Atomic Energy Research Establishment) in Oxfordshire back in the 80 and 90s. 

RSFC: And did the fact that you start earning straight away and are less likely to have to pay back a significant student loan affect your decision to apply for degree apprenticeships? 

MP: It was a factor to consider but not the priority – it was primarily the type of learning and the education that I would get from it.  

RSFC: Ok. So, you made your decision to apply – these courses are highly competitive - how did you do your research and decide what to apply for? 

MP: I looked at what was available and asked: Is it engineering? Is it a field that I enjoy? If the answers were yes, I applied. I put in 47 applications – all the big engineering firms – Airbus, Honeywell, EDF, BAE, Sellafield, Rolls Royce to name a few. The more you apply for, the more chance you have of being selected. 

RSFC: I had the impression that there weren’t many degree apprenticeships available, but you’re giving painting a different picture? 

MP: Yes – there are a lot out there. I think companies are starting to realise that there are a lot of people that want to learn in a practical environment and don't necessarily want to go to university. They want to get stuck straight into work – because they enjoy it! I was speaking to another candidate at an assessment centre who said she didn’t want to go to uni: yes, because of the debt, but mainly because she’d done her work experience and realised that she prefered work! Similar to me, actually. I did a week’s work experience in Year 12 and loved getting stuck in and working with a team. It was at Viper RF in Newton Aycliffe – they make electronics for satellites. They didn’t completely let me loose, but I learnt so much from simulators and things. Having that practical engagement, but also the theory behind it was just perfect – I loved it. 

RSFC: So, 47 applications. Is an application just filling in a form and sending it off? 

MP: Pretty much, yes, but it did vary. Some were online forms; some were old-school where you had to send a CV. That was the start of the process. If you made it through that stage, a lot of the companies then did online interviews where your answers were recorded to video – horrible! 

RSFC: Were you interacting with a human during these interviews? 

MP: No. The questions just came up on a screen. Sometimes they gave you a time limit of a minute or two minutes to answer. Some of the questions were really tricky. 

RSFC: So, not just, “Tell us a bit about yourself...”? 

MP: Oh no – they're not bothered about that at all! They’re looking for your ability to problem-solve and to think quickly. They don’t want to know about your knowledge – they can teach you that, but they can’t teach you quick thinking and to have an adaptable approach to solving problems 

RSFC: Give us an example of a particularly horrible question. 

MP: So, one company asked a question about safety – they said that they were experiencing safety issues with one of their processes. They asked, “Before the next safety review, what are you going to do to ensure that our entire team is safety compliant?” They gave me a minute. I didn’t get that one! Another company asked, “We’ve delivered a product to a customer, and they’re not happy about it. What are your solutions?” I had two minutes for that one. Many of these questions are very hard, especially for people of my age. I’m lucky that I have good people around me who helped me prepare. I also used ChatGPT to help me practice similar question styles. I asked it to give me these types of questions, specific to this company, and to give me a time limit. That was really helpful. 

RSFC: So interesting that you used AI to prepare for these questions. Did anyone ask you about AI? 

MP: Not directly, but in my wider discussions it’s been raised that you now have to think about whether a particular job is going to become obsolete. In the time from when I start the apprenticeship to when I finish, some parts of the job will have become obsolete because of AI – it's nuts! 

RSFC: Scary – especially just coming into employment, like you are. 

MP: I think the concept of an engineer is changing. As technology and information become more readily available, engineering companies are less interested in looking for ‘experts’ in subjects but more interested in problem-solvers. 

RSFC: Ok, 47 applications, lots of impersonal interviews – what happened next? 

MP: So, I managed to get through to the next stage with four companies. The next stage involved either just an interview or what’s called an assessment centre where you spend a day at the company with a group of candidates. 

RSFC: And how many people get through to this stage? 

MP: Well, I went to an assessment centre at a company in Gloucester and there were ten of us, and it was one of five days, so 50 people got through. This was for one job. They told us that 5000 people had applied initially. 

RSFC: 5000 applicants for one job. Wow.  

How does an assessment centre work? 

MP: The one in Gloucester was focused on materials science. It wasn’t my highest priority, to be honest, but I wanted to learn from the experience, make mistakes, and apply what I learned to other assessment centres. It started with an individual exercise – a practical. Then there was a group exercise – building a tower made of spaghetti, then an interview. We also had a tour of the site. That’s basically how most assessment centres work – individual, group, then interview. There was one exception – that was an interview with a junior engineer and a fourth-year apprentice – much closer to my age than the usual more senior interviewers. There were still some tough questions, but it was much easier to talk to them – I think young people can find the more senior interviewers intimidating sometimes. 

RSFC: And did you feel you had to do any research or preparation for any of these assessment centres or interviews? 

MP: A mix. One company recently gave me some feedback saying they thought I was well-researched and linked many of my interview answers back to the company – they like it when you do that. Same with one of the others – I actually quoted some information from their website – they were very happy with that! But then one didn’t ask me anything about the company at all. I actually brought a folder with me. For each of the four companies, I had a list of expected questions and my answers. I also had pictures of different parts of their websites and of some of the projects I’d done myself. I think the folder gave the impression of being well-prepared, and it also helped me – I get nervous in interviews sometimes, so it was good to have something to refer to, and to show them. 

RSFC: And after those days – offers quite soon afterwards? 

MP: No, not at all. I haven’t heard back from one yet. Another didn’t offer me a place. The other two offered me a place after a month. All of them told me they’d processed thousands of applicants. 

RSFC: So, you have a decision to make – Company A or Company B. How are you approaching that? 

MP: I’m talking to a lot of people! I’m leaning towards one at the moment – it's a much bigger, international company that will offer lots of transfer opportunities. They also have a space section, which is something I’ve always wanted to be involved in. I have to take the education side of things into account too. The degrees are different, so I need to consider what is best for the future. One degree is more general mechanical engineering, the other is more science and electronics. We’re also doing a Pugh concept selection matrix... 

RSFC: ...a what?!... 

MP: ...it’s basically just an Excel spreadsheet with different weightings for all the factors affecting a complex decision. So, for example, how far away from home the course is, the pay, the accommodation etc. All the factors’ weightings are compared to a baseline – we're using Sheffield University. The result should be a relatively unbiased decision as to which course to go for. 

RSFC: I love how you’re approaching the decision-making process! 

MP: It’s hard – I'd do both degrees if I could! 

RSFC: It sounds like whichever one you choose will be brilliant. 

To read more, head over to our Facebook page.

Thanks to Mr Westgate for the following reports: 

The Year 10 football team delivered an excellent set of performances to win the recent Area 7-a-side Tournament, showing quality, resilience and teamwork across five matches. 

The tournament began with a confident 3–0 victory over Thirsk, setting the tone for the day with strong organisation at the back and sharp attacking play. Richmond followed this with a difficult match against Risedale, where despite a determined display, they suffered a 3–1 defeat.  

Richmond responded superbly, recording a convincing 3–0 win over Northallerton, controlling possession and limiting their opponents to very few chances. That momentum carried into the next fixture against Easingwold, where another 3–0 victory highlighted the side’s discipline, passing quality and composure in front of goal. 

The final match against SFX was a standout performance. Richmond dominated from the outset, playing with pace and confidence to secure an emphatic 5–0 win, sealing the tournament title in style. 

Across the tournament, the team showed outstanding togetherness, work rate and attitude. Solid defending, energetic midfield play and clinical finishing proved the difference, making this tournament victory a thoroughly deserved achievement for the Year 10 footballers. 

Year 10 photo left to right: Jake Murrell, Louie Petch, Ethan Garside, Tom Simpson, Joe Brookes, Henry Ward, Justin McGregor, Nathan Collier and Noah Lister.  

Richmond v Thirsk 3-0 win 

V Risedale 3-1 loss 

V Northallerton 3-0 win 

V Easingwold 3-0 win 

V SFX 5-0 win  

The Y7 football team produced a series of competitive and spirited performances in their tournament, showing great teamwork and determination throughout the day. 

Richmond opened the tournament with a hard-fought 1–1 draw against Thirsk, battling well and showing early determination. The team then built momentum with an impressive 2–0 win over Bedale, keeping a clean sheet and taking chances calmly when they came. 

A tight match against Northallerton followed, ending in a 0–0 draw. Richmond defended well, worked hard for each other, and showed good discipline against strong opposition. Despite a 2–0 defeat to Easingwold, the team remained positive and committed, continuing to compete right to the final whistle. 

The tournament finished on a high note with an excellent 2–1 victory over SFX, where Richmond showed both character and quality to secure the win. 

Overall, the Year 7s displayed excellent effort, teamwork and sportsmanship, making this a very promising tournament experience for the squad and one to build on for future years. 

Y7 - Finished 3rd overall

Richmond v Thirsk 1-1 draw 

V Bedale 2-0 win 

V Northallerton 0-0 draw 

V Easingwold 2-0 loss 

V SFX 2-1 win  

Year 7 photo left to right: Max Read, Archie Porter, Jake Kirkbridge, Owen Mundell, Charlie Davies, Harry Cowperthwaite, Jaxon Tarrant, Harry Adams, Billy Kenealy 

Richmond School recently hosted a Year 3/4 and a Year 5/6 Mini Tennis festival. Many thanks to the following schools for supporting the event: 

The Mini Tennis festival aimed to provide an inclusive competitive opportunity for pupils to develop fundamental tennis skills, teamwork and confidence while representing their schools in a positive and enjoyable sporting environment. 

Each school brought a team of four pupils. These pupils all played numerous Mini Tennis games against the other schools to earn points for their team. The team results were as follows; 

Year 3/4 

Year 5/6 

All schools demonstrated excellent participation, sportsmanship and teamwork. The event was led by Sports Leaders from Year 9 at Richmond School who independently umpired the games, scored, communicated with the pupils and staff and led the presentation. 

Some time ago we publicised a fundraising 12-hour Danceathon, held at the Comrades Club, Richmond, raising money for Dementia Forward. 

Mrs Fox, Richmond’s Lead Teacher of Dance, led one of the sessions – she provides the following: 

“Just thought I'd share a few photos from the Danceathon last Saturday. The event was a great success and hopefully raised awareness of Dementia Forward in our area. The total raised was £1538.40. 

My 9:00am Line Dancing class was the busiest session of the day and some of my lovely GCSE and A Level Dance students from school even came along to support and join in – thank you to them! 

It was a feel-good, community event for a fantastic cause, and I felt privileged to be asked to be part of it!”