Washington student, Ella aged 12, won the top prize for the North East region in an annual contest that has reopened this month to celebrate the NHS’s upcoming 75th birthday. The Step into the NHS competition encourages secondary school pupils to research and create a job advert for an NHS role while learning about the many careers in the health service.
Ella, a student at Oxclose Community Academy, created a detailed and colourful PowerPoint slide deck advertising the role of accountant in the NHS. Ella explains what qualifications are needed to be an accountant, a typical ‘day in the life’ in the role and how the NHS Financial Management scheme can help graduates into an NHS accountant role.
North East regional winner, Ella said:
“I enjoyed researching the role of an accountant in the NHS, as it is a role that not everyone thinks about. The NHS does a fantastic job under a lot of pressure and working for them is something that I may look into for the future.”
Step into the NHS
Health Education England (HEE) runs the Step into the NHS competition each year to raise awareness of the more than 350 career opportunities in the NHS, while supporting the career aspirations of young people in education.
Dr Navina Evans, Chief Executive, Health Education England, said:
“I am so pleased that Ella chose to research an NHS accountant, an often-unsung hero in our organisation. Ella clearly put a lot of effort and research into her entry, and I am so glad her hard work has been rewarded.”
Opportunity for young people to explore NHS careers
This year’s competition saw 898 entries from more than 1,540 pupils in 120 secondary schools across England. As well as encouraging students to explore the range of careers in the NHS, they had the chance to create a job advert for an NHS role in their own personal and creative way.
Michael Hepplewhite, teacher, said:
“Everyone at Oxclose is extremely proud of Ella and what she has achieved. Ella has represented the school impeccably and shown several key skills and maturity whilst presenting her researched role of an accountant in the NHS. Well done, Ella!”
The judges
The judges for the secondary school competition were television presenter Martin Dougan, 2020’s UK Career Leader of the Year Stacey Drake and medical student and vlogger Takanayi Mureyi.
Takanayi Mureyi, medical student and vlogger, said:
“Ella did some good research into what the role she chose entails, it was also a well-structured presentation.”
Stacey Drake, 2020 CDI Careers Leader of the year, said:
“I loved that you included ‘follow the rainbow’. Well done on choosing a job that people do not often associate with the NHS. My favourite slide was the life stages as an accountant”
Developed in partnership with teachers, the Step into the NHS competition is now reopen for the 2023 competition. Its curriculum-linked resources for KS2 and KS3, including a careers quiz, an A-Z of NHS careers and stories from NHS staff, introduce students to more than 350 NHS careers.
For details of all the career opportunities the NHS can offer, visit the NHS Health Careers website:
