YEAR 11 pupils at a Canvey secondary school had a school day with a difference when they learnt about how to prepare for a job.

Pupils at Cornelius Vermuyden School, in Dinant Avenue, Canvey, were asked to come in wearing business clothing and had a day of activities focused on the skills and qualities needed to succeed in the workplace.

They also learnt how to find and apply for a job, including CV preparation and mock interviews.

Students spent their first two-hour session learning how to make a good first impression, how to present themselves at an interview and what to include in their CV.

The second part of the day was the practical mock interview, these were undertaken by guests invited from a wide range of businesses in the local community, including council representatives, banks and other large businesses.

A spokesman for the school said the pupils enjoy the day.

He said: “Students were extremely nervous about this but, with the training that they had received in the morning, they excelled in the interview process.

“The feedback from the business guests was that our students were impeccably dressed, mature, interesting, articulate, confident and full of excellent questions. Many of the guests said they would hire them based on their interview.

“The day was about encouraging our students to be enterprising, to make them think about their own qualities, taking reasonable risks to gain the necessary drive to make ideas happen and see tasks through to completion”