How did you find out about the High Tide Foundation Summer Scheme?

I found out about the High Tide Foundation Summer Scheme from my Head of House at school, Fiona Brealey. She thought that I would gain a lot of experience of the working world through applying for work experience.

I first met up with Lauren Bywater, who is the Project Coordinator for High Tide, and I had a chat with her about what type of work I was interested in doing. I knew I wanted to work in film but I wasn’t sure what type of jobs were out there for me.

What programme did you take part on and what did you think about your High Tide experience?

I spent a total of two weeks doing work experience through High Tide’s Summer Scheme. I spent the first week at Wynyard Hall, where I helped out with gardening. It wasn’t really my thing but nevertheless, I still enjoyed it. It wasn’t something I expected to be doing on a work experience placement at all. My second week was at Ithica Films in Middlesbrough, where I spent a week learning all of the skills that go into making a film. 

What impact will your High Tide experience have on you? (e.g. confidence, awareness of career opportunities, ideas for your career).

I had absolutely no idea that there were jobs like this in Middlesbrough at all. It really opened my eyes as to what careers I could eventually go into after education.

What did you learn during your High Tide experience? (e.g. knowledge gained, what skills have your learned).

I was taught how to use the camera and film, and I also was shown how to edit my footage. I really enjoyed learning how to make a video, from the filming to the editing of it and I will be able to transfer these skills into my future career.

What was your highlight of the whole experience?

After completing my week’s worth of experience, I was offered an apprenticeship there. At this time I had already enrolled into college and I knew what I wanted to do, but I knew that working at Ithica Films would be the best thing for me to do, as it was exactly the path I wanted to go down once I left college anyway. I felt so lucky that I was given the opportunity to be an Apprentice Filmmaker at Ithica and I am really enjoying my time here so far.

Are you looking to get into a work experience placement or apprenticeship? If you are based in Teesside and are either finishing Year 11 or 12, or studying at a Teesside based college and are aged 16-19, then the Summer Scheme could be for you!

For more information on the Summer Scheme, or to apply, visit our Summer Scheme page, or click apply below. You can also contact our General Manager, Lauren Bywater, directly on 07834176945 or email info@hightidefoundation.co.uk.