Kye Gears Up for Bicycle Work Experience

It's really important to us as a school to forge links in the local community of Hungerford and the surrounding areas, which we've already done with organisations including Hungerford Library, Shalbourne Community Growers and Hungerford Town Football Club.

As our pupils get older we encourage them to gain new skills and experience, which will help them progress into the world of further education and/or work after they leave us at Oaklands School.

Work experience is a great way for our pupils to explore different career paths, learn outside the classroom, increase their communication skills and build self-confidence. Previously, one of our pupils helped out on the cheese stall at the weekly Charter Market in Hungerford High Street. Now a pupil from Elm Class, Kye, has started work experience with James Charlesworth, also known locally as Jim The Bike Guy. Jim is a Cytech accredited bicycle technician who repairs and services bikes for customers across the Hungerford, Newbury, Thatcham and Marlborough areas.

During his first session Kye helped Jim with a Standard Assessment Service (SAS) on a customer's racing bike. Kye followed the service plan by firstly washing down the bike, then placing it in the stand to check the tyres, spokes, chain and indexing. Following the checks, Kye and Jim worked together to replace the chain and bar end plugs and indexed the bike's front gear.

Kye, enjoyed working on the bike and learning lots of new processes. He's looking forward to another work experience afternoon with Jim The Bike Guy soon.