Inside the BIG Alliance Year 10 City Work Experience Week
By Forida Rahman, Project Manager, BIG Alliance
Closing off the 2025/2026 academic year, a select cohort of Year 10 students from City of London Highgate Hill Academy stepped out of the classroom and directly into the heart of Islington’s commercial district for a valuable, multi-day work experience journey.
Hosted alongside four BIG Alliance corporate partners – Macquarie Group, MUFG, Linklaters – and the City of London Corporation, the experience was designed to give young people a multi-industry lens on the modern workplace. The week welcomed between seven and 11 students each day, offering a supportive environment where each student was able to showcase different skills.
Across the four corporate locations, the cohort explored financial services, corporate law and civic governance, demystifying the complex institutions right on their doorstep.
Students gained real-life perspectives on careers spanning corporate law, investment banking, sustainable finance, and civic management. Each day offered direct access to professionals and recent graduates, giving the cohort an honest, inspiring look into how diverse talents translate into dynamic careers.
To prepare the group for future opportunities, host teams put the students through realistic assessment centre activities. Working through collaborative group challenges and timed problem-solving exercises, students built crucial workplace competencies. They practised articulating their ideas under pressure, developing skills valued by employers during competitive recruitment processes.
Creative highlight
A standout highlight of the week was a dynamic creative challenge where students were tasked with building their own gaming brand. Combining commercial strategy, target audience analysis and creative design, the cohort worked in small teams to pitch original gaming concepts to panel judges. The exercise brought out intense collaboration, strategic thinking and impressive entrepreneurial spirit, proving that corporate skill sets map directly onto industries young people are passionate about.
Grounding the week’s professional experience was a guided tour of the City of London. Walking through historic landmarks alongside cutting-edge financial skyscrapers, students gained a fresh appreciation for the rich history and modern economic engine of their city and the many careers the city hosted.
By the end of the programme, what started as a quiet group of Year 10s grew into a confident, ambitious cohort equipped with new networks, practical interview tools, and a clear vision of where their future careers can take them.
For more information about this and other BIG Alliance activities, please contact info@thebigalliance.org.uk.