Over Freshers’ Week the tutors from Production Design for Stage and Screen & Visual Effects and Model Making invited recent graduates to come in and share their experiences, past and present, with the new Level 4 students.

The first couple of weeks, as we all know, are pretty daunting. A brand new course to get stuck into, a whole new set of classmate from every corner of the U.K. and a new town to settle into (for a lot of you). What better way to kick it off than speaking to a host of graduates who have just successfully completed what you’re about to start. A friendly re-assurance to say, “you’ll be ok! It’s great here!”. This is exactly what happened for the level 4s!

Students who returned (and were extremely helpful) are, Zoe Widowfield, Jo Bulmer, Sandy Peebles, Melanie Gettings and some Level 5 students also joined the group for the session. Below is some of the advice that was exchanged;

Mel: “I said to them – make sure you get as much work experience as you can and make contacts.”

Jo: “I was telling them to not be scared to ask questions, to make sure they get work experience and contacts as early as possible, not wait until 3rd year, be bold and not fragile!”

Zoe: “It was a fun day and lovely to see everyone again! I said for them to enjoy the experience, get as much out of it as they can and take any advice they get from John, Norman and Tony. ”

Sandy: “It went well. I think that I basically said, set yourself a goal, reach out and go for it. Listen to the Tutors. See them as an employer and when they ask for something, try to interpret what it is they are asking for and go for it. Try not to cut any corners and do what you can in the time allotted to the task.
If you feel yourself getting stressed out, speak to a member of staff sooner, rather than later. If you haven’t understood what you are being taught, ask to be shown again. Keep at it until you are comfortable carrying out the activity.”