Grey Coat Issue 11: March/April 2011


Work experience is a pantomime for Lois Lois Cobblah pictured at the Peacock Theatre


This is the seventh year that a Grey Coat student has been offered the wonderful opportunity to participate in work experience with PWC annual pantomime. Below is Lois Cobblah’s account of her time at the Peacock Theatre.


From the 22nd to the 29th January, I was fortunate enough to be invited to go to PricewaterhouseCoopers for work experience to help them with their annual pantomime; this year it was Pinocchio. On the first day, I worked in wardrobe and costume at the embankment office alongside a lovely girl called Leanne who was also doing work experience. In this department our co-ordinator was Marilyn, a lovely lady who showed us how everything was done. She explained it was where they dealt with any errors that


the casts’ costumes presented them with and also, put finishing touches onto costumes (most of the costumes were made by the PWC staff). While Leanne was assigned to draw wooden designs on Pinocchio’s tights, I was asked to sew some costumes together; I was glad to do so as I love sewing. It was very interesting to see the amount of costumes that had been made by the workers from the company and the quality of them.


On the second day (and for the rest of my experience), we worked in the Peacock Theatre. I had never been to the backstage area of a theatre, so for me this was a wonderful experience. Each department had allocated rooms on different floors; it took me a while to get used to where things are as you could easily get lost. Sure enough as Marilyn had said, my second day in wardrobe involved fixing costumes and re-painting some. Also on the second day of my work experience, I helped out with the touch tour. This was a tour for a blind school that were coming to watch the play. The idea of the tour was to explain the costumes of the characters in detail to the students, so that when they watched the play they would gain a better


Students rise to the challenge


Following an exciting assembly approximately 50 of our year 11 students have signed up to take part in 'The Challenge'!


The Challenge is your chance for students to show others (including employers and university admissions tutors) what they can do. It is an exciting opportunity for 15-16 year olds in the summer after year 11. The programme


lasts 2 ½ weeks full-time during the summer, plus 4 days over weekends in the autumn:


Week 1: 'The Personal Challenge' could be learning to abseil down a 100 foot wall whilst on an outdoor residential! Week 2: 'The Team Challenge' will find the student and their team living at a university and taking on a project with a difference, perhaps in the Enterprise,


Media, Drama, Photography or Sport fields.


Week 3 and beyond: 'The Real Challenge' involves students designing their own Challenge in their own neighbourhood!


What an amazing opportunity, I'm so proud that that so many Year 11 students will be involved!


Ms Nataraj


understanding of what was going on; I think this was very kind and considerate of PWC to organise this.


The subsequent day, I was assigned to front of house. This consisted of helping with jobs like bringing the schools in, handing out their programmes, taking them down to the theatre etc. I personally enjoyed that day as it was pleasant to see the joy on the children’s faces as they walked into the theatre. On the last day I got to watch the performance. However, prior to watching the show, I was assigned to make up where I was warmly welcomed and settled in quickly. I was in charge of doing the chorus’s makeup which I enjoyed as it was creative, and it also allowed me to talk to workers from PWC. Watching the performance was a wonderful experience. Seeing the smiles on the children’s’ faces and the participation as they watched the show brought joy to my day. The cast were very professional and dedicated their time to ensure they put on a throughly professional performance considering they are all full time workers at PWC. Also, it turns out that there is more to the story than Pinocchio’s nose growing because he lied.


It was a lovely 4-day unforgettable experience and I wished it had lasted longer, and I thank PWC for letting me have such a great time. Lois Cobblah


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