Hello, my name is Oli Webster and I am a first year student at Marple Sixth Form College currently doing my Work Experience week in both The Pump Room and The Buxton Crescent Experience – both of which are fantastically wonderful!

I decided to do my Work Experience Placement here at The Pump Room for several reasons:

1. The Pump Room is a whole new experience for me as I myself have not yet had a job. Working behind a counter is something I had honestly never considered for my future occupation as I tend to struggle with new people and yet, with all of the staff within the Pump Room, I feel completely comfortable and confident. They have taught me how to operate a till, which ,again, is something I haven’t done before, how to both set up and close The Pump room at the beginning and end of a day and how to prepare a tray of tea/coffee ready for a customer – and that was just day one! The flow of people into the Pump Room isn’t overwhelming either, as people often come in groups at regular intervals throughout the day so you have time for a mental refresh before the next customer. Working within the Pump Room will help you to develop both your customer service skills and your technical skills, even if, like me, you didn’t have a clue where to begin at first.

2. The Buxton Crescent Experience is also a new experience for me and is truly fantastic! So far I have shadowed both a group tour and a self-guided tour and the knowledge that the hosts have surrounding the history of the Crescent and The Pump Room is amazing. Furthermore, if anybody has a question for a host, they will be able to answer with so much detail that you’ll not only have your question answered but you’ll learn so much more too. Like The Pump Room, The Buxton Crescent Experience will help you to further develop customer service skills as well as developing your knowledge of Buxton along the way.

3. Finally, I chose to do my Work Experience placement with The Buxton Heritage Trust as it links to my interests and my future aspirations. I am an A-Level student studying History, Sociology and English Language, all of which are useful when working within these spaces. My interest in History is perfectly satisfied here, with every single room that I have entered having such a vast and rich history to learn all about and explore. There’s even a room of fascinating anachronisms within the Buxton Crescent Experience: a room that is both futuristic and historical, where you can travel into the past and experience hot air balloon travel through Buxton via Virtual Reality – Almost like a TARDIS (for any Doctor Who fans, or Whovians, like myself) within Buxton! My passion for English Language has also been useful here, with me so far helping to write this very section of this newsletter for you to see. Sociology has also been impacted here, with me working with customers all throughout the day and learning all about how to correctly interact with them to ensure that they are satisfied with their service and continue to have a good rest of their day.

Even after just 1 day of working here, I can tell you that if you, like me, were struggling to find a Work Experience Placement that matches everything that you’re looking for, The Buxton Heritage Trust are more than welcoming and you’ll learn so much within the week that will no doubt help you with your future job prospects and provide you with the confidence to go out there and find an occupation that works for you.