Manor Green School

In his final year at Manor Green School (2017/18) Nathan was one of two students that entered on to our inaugural supported internship, which takes place at the Maidenhead offices of Johnson & Johnson with the students working for Sodexo. Nathan immediately won Sodexo staff over in his interview for the internship and his commitment and work ethic throughout the internship was second to none, with Nathan even choosing to work throughout the school holidays. At the end of the one year internship, Nathan was offered a permanent job role within Sodexo’s catering department and, given how well he has been doing in this permanent role, has even featured in Sodexo’s internal staff magazine.

Jake left Manor Green School at the end of 2016/17 and went on to study Level One Sports' Studies at Berkshire College of Agriculture. Jake’s initial goal had been to join the Armed Forces but after carrying out work experience at Manor Green School whilst at college, Jake’s career direction changed to wanting to work in education. For 2018/19, Jake successfully secured a place on our Apprentice Specialist Support Assistant (SSA) programme which sees him work full time in Donaldson class, as well as continuing his further education through the UCAN programme. At the time of writing, Jake is excelling in his role of apprentice SSA and is a real asset to the school’s staff team.

Former Manor Green School student, Jacque White, has secured a place at the Garden Academy, a prestigious academy set up in 2013 by Homebase and garden designer Adam Frost. The 12-month programme offers young people the opportunity to learn from Frost about garden planning and design, work with partners and suppliers to develop product knowledge, learn practical horticultural skills to earn a RHS Level 1 Award as well as work full time at their local Homebase store. Jacque is passionate about horticulture and, with the support of Manor Green School, participated in work experience with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Parks Team, Dorney Court Kitchen Garden and Homebase. He was amongst 40 candidates to be selected out of 5,000 applicants for the programme; he was outstanding throughout the application process, demonstrating independence, confidence and skill. This is a fantastic, once in a lifetime opportunity for Jacque and the other candidates to come together and share their passion for gardening and to develop it into a rewarding career. Debra Burnett, job coach with Ways into Work, who is based in the school, commented: “This is a massive achievement for Jacque and a great step forward for him. We are all so pleased. His success is a true testament to all the hard work of the staff at Manor Green School who supported him on his journey.”