PUPILS at John Bentley School, Calne, were put through their paces by local businesses on Tuesday as the school held its third annual Big Interview Day.

It gave Year 10 and sixth form pupils the opportunity to apply for mock jobs and experience an interview with one of more than 40 businesses.

Former student Jordan Crook, who is now in phase two training for the British Army, took part in the first Big Interview Day two years ago but this time he was interviewing prospective recruits.

He said: “The Big Interview Day gives you an understanding of what you will face in a real interview.

“The best part for me was the feedback because you can learn from it and put it into practice when it comes to a real-life situation.”

Businesses that took part included Wiltshire College, IBM, HMRC, Siemens Rail Automation Holdings Ltd, Wiltshire Cricket, Santander UK, Barclays and Thames Water. Kathy Starling, warehouse manager for B&Q in Swindon, said: “Students have outshone interviews I held for apprenticeships back in September.”

Students have spent the last few weeks writing letters of application and CVs before preparing for interviews in lessons. After discarding the pre-interview nerves, many said they found the overall experience useful and productive.

Year 10 student Lauren Cuggy said: “I was really nervous before as I didn’t know what to expect, but my interview went really well. The interviewer was really friendly and it was a lot less scary that I thought it would be.”

Employers also provided students with verbal and written feedback on their CVs, application letters and interview technique and will inform students if they were ‘hired’ in the next few days.