The roadshow, hosted by Lucas Yeomans from BBC Radio Stoke, featured an inspiring panel of local professionals. Panellists included Fran Anderson, a Production Assistant and Fast Track Apprentice with BBC Introducing; Jemma Green, a Food Science Technician at Premier Foods; and Ryan Grant, Director of Marketing and Communications at Port Vale. Each speaker shared unique career stories, including memorable experiences working on live broadcasts from festivals like Glastonbury and even interviewing big names like Ryan Reynolds! These exciting stories showed students what’s possible in fields like media, food science, and sports marketing.

“It was a truly motivating experience for our students to see what’s possible right here in Stoke,” said Ms Williamson, Assistant Headteacher and Careers Lead. “Events like this show our young people that there are many paths to success and that confidence grows with experience.”

The roadshow was full of practical takeaways on different career paths, and students were especially inspired hearing how even the most successful professionals started out nervous but grew in confidence. Thank you to the BBC Bitesize team and our panellists for sparking fresh ambitions at Co-op Academy!