In this article
The Year 10 placements that actually happen are with small local employers: independent shops and cafés, primary schools and nurseries, vets, trades and workshops, small offices, pharmacies, charity shops, libraries and sports clubs. Work experience is not compulsory in England, but most schools still run a week in Year 10 or 11, and students who find their own placement almost always do it by asking somewhere small, close, and connected to someone they know.
The short version
- Small and local says yes far more often than big and national.
- Ask with exact dates - vague enquiries get vague answers.
- Most placements come through someone the family already knows.
- Under-16 paid work has strict hour limits and usually needs a council permit; a school placement is different.
- If nothing lands, agree an alternative with your careers lead early rather than in the final week.
Is work experience compulsory in Year 10?
No. The duty on schools in England to provide work-related learning at Key Stage 4 was removed in 2012. What replaced it is expectation rather than obligation: the Gatsby Benchmarks that guide careers provision in English secondary schools expect every student to have had at least one meaningful experience of a workplace by the end of Year 11, and another by the end of Year 13.
In practice, that means most schools still run a placement week, most expect students and families to find the placement, and the paperwork deadline usually arrives sooner than anyone plans for. Start by asking your careers lead three things: the dates, the deadline, and what the employer has to sign.
Placement ideas by sector
Retail and hospitality
Independent shops, cafés, garden centres, bakeries, farm shops
Usually the easiest yes, and genuinely good for customer confidence and handling money.
Primary schools and nurseries
Classroom support, reading help, after-school clubs
Strong option for anyone considering teaching, childcare, speech therapy or paediatrics. Expect a DBS conversation with the school.
Vets, kennels and animal rescue
Practice reception, kennel work, rescue centres
Heavily oversubscribed, so ask early and ask small places.
Trades and workshops
Joinery, garages, salons, print shops, bike shops
Often the most hands-on week available, and the most useful for apprenticeship applications.
Offices and professional services
Estate agents, accountants, solicitors, architects, marketing agencies
Ask whether you can shadow more than one person - a week on reception teaches less than three half-days across teams.
NHS and care settings
Pharmacies, dentists, physio clinics, care homes
Hospitals rarely take under-16s, but pharmacies, dental practices and care homes sometimes do.
Charities and community
Charity shops, food banks, libraries, sports clubs, museums
Almost always say yes, and give you real responsibility quickly.
Family and friends' workplaces
A parent's employer, a neighbour's business, a family friend's studio
Not cheating. Most placements come from someone the family already knows - just make sure you do actual work.
One thing worth knowing: what you learn about yourself matters more than the logo. A week in a bike shop where you were trusted with customers beats a week in a famous office where you photocopied.
What 14, 15 and 16 year olds are allowed to do
A school-arranged placement is not employment, so it runs under your school's arrangements, the employer's risk assessment and their insurance. Paid work is a separate set of rules, and this is where families get caught out.
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13 is the general minimum age for part-time paid work, though local byelaws vary and some areas set it higher for certain jobs.
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Term time: a maximum of 12 hours a week, never during school hours, never before 7am or after 7pm.
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School holidays: 13-14 year olds up to 5 hours a day and 25 hours a week; 15-16 year olds up to 8 hours a day and 35 hours a week.
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A work permit from the local council is usually required, and the employer normally applies for it.
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Some work is off limits under 18, including many machinery, alcohol and late-night roles.
Because the detail sits with local councils, always check the rules where you live - GOV.UK child employment is the right starting point. Our guide to jobs for 13, 14, 15 and 16 year olds in the UK goes through the paid-work side in more detail.
How to ask so you get a yes
Most requests fail for the same three reasons: no name, no dates, and no specific reason for choosing that place. Fix those and the reply rate changes completely.
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Find a named person - the owner, the manager, whoever answers the phone. "Dear Sir/Madam" reads as a mass email.
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Put the dates in the first two lines. Employers decide on dates before they decide on you.
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Say why them in one honest sentence. "I want to work with animals and you are the closest practice to my school" is enough.
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Offer to be useful, not to be taught. Willing beats impressive at 15.
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Ask your parents to ask around too. Most placements come from a personal connection, and that is normal, not unfair.
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Follow up once, a week later, politely. Then move down the list.
There is a ready-made version you can copy in our work experience request letter and email templates, including the follow-up and the thank-you.
If nothing comes back
This is far more common than school assemblies make it sound, and it is not a reflection on you. Small employers are stretched, insurance puts some off, and popular sectors are massively oversubscribed. The students who come out of it well are the ones who build their own week instead of waiting.
Options that work: a structured virtual programme, volunteering with a charity or club, shadowing several people for half a day each, or running a small enterprise project of your own and treating it like a job - hours, tasks, customers, and a written record at the end.
Being straight with you: what this does and doesn't count as
What is true
- You finish a We Can Be module with something real: an idea tested, priced, branded and pitched.
- You get a certificate of completion and a record of the modules and badges you finished.
- The work is genuinely yours, so you can describe it in a CV, application, interview or personal statement.
- It is a legitimate answer to "what did you do instead of a placement" if your school agrees it in advance.
What we do not claim
- We are not an employer and this is not a work experience placement.
- It is not school-approved by default - your careers lead decides what your school counts.
- It does not automatically satisfy a school placement requirement or Gatsby Benchmark 6, which expects a real workplace.
- It is not a reference from a company, because no company employed you.
If you want this to count for anything formal, ask your careers lead before you start, and keep a simple log of dates, tasks and what you learned. Written evidence agreed in advance is what makes it usable.
Full detail on this route, including how to structure the week, is in what to do if you can't find a work experience placement.
How to make it count afterwards
The week itself is worth surprisingly little if you never write it down. On the last day, note the tasks you did, the things you found hard, one thing you were trusted with, and one thing you now know you do not want to do. That paragraph will still be useful in two years.
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Turn it into a CV and application – our personal statement guide shows how to write about experience with evidence rather than adjectives.
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Test whether you want to work for yourself – the free Founder Readiness Check takes about five minutes.
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See how other people started – 250+ real UK female founders, searchable by sector, with the problem each of them spotted first.
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Build something of your own next – the Trailblazers track (15-18) covers pricing, customers and earning properly. Module 1 is free.
Parents: if the placement hunt is going badly and it is knocking your teenager's confidence, our guide on what to do when a teenager has no motivation is the more useful read, and the parents hub explains what free and paid access actually include.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are good work experience ideas for Year 10?
The placements Year 10 students most often get are independent shops and cafés, primary schools and nurseries, vets and animal rescue centres, trades and workshops, small offices such as estate agents or accountants, pharmacies and dental practices, charity shops, libraries and sports clubs. Small local employers say yes far more often than large national ones, so start with places within walking or bus distance.
Is work experience compulsory in Year 10?
No. The statutory duty on schools in England to arrange work-related learning at Key Stage 4 was removed in 2012, so work experience is not compulsory. Many schools still run a placement week in Year 10 or 11, and the Gatsby Benchmarks that guide careers provision expect students to have at least one meaningful experience of a workplace by the end of Year 11 and another by the end of Year 13.
How many hours can a 14 or 15 year old work in the UK?
For paid work, children aged 13 to 14 can work up to 5 hours a day and 25 hours a week in school holidays, and 15 to 16 year olds up to 8 hours a day and 35 hours a week. During term time the limit is 12 hours a week, with no work before 7am, after 7pm, or during school hours, and a work permit is usually required from the local council. Exact rules come from local council byelaws, so check yours. A school-arranged work experience placement is not employment and is covered by the school's own arrangements instead.
How do I ask a company for work experience?
Email or walk in with a short, specific request: who you are, your school and year, the exact dates you need, what you are interested in, and an offer to do any task that helps. Address a named person if you can find one, keep it under 150 words, and follow up once after a week. A short, dated, specific request gets far more yeses than a general enquiry.
Does virtual work experience count?
It depends on your school, so ask your careers lead before relying on it. Many schools accept structured virtual programmes from employers or universities, particularly where local placements are scarce, and record them as an experience of a workplace. Save the certificate or confirmation email either way.
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