Day in the Life at Dorset Studio School: From Work Experience to Apprenticeship

For Year 11 student Tobyn Copp, leaving school will not mean stepping into the unknown.

As he completes his final examinations at Dorset Studio School, Tobyn is preparing to begin an apprenticeship with The Brace of Butchers in Poundbury, Dorchester. A role that grew directly from the school’s close links with local employers.

Dorset Studio School’s land-based approach to education is built around real experience, real industries and real opportunities. Alongside their core GCSE subjects, students study technical land-based qualifications and are given opportunities to work with local businesses, helping them understand where their skills and interests might take them after school.

Tobyn’s story also shows how land-based learning can connect not only to animals, agriculture and the environment, but also to food, butchery, customer service and local business.

For Tobyn, that opportunity came through a Year 10 work experience placement arranged by the school.
His mum, Lauren Copp, said: “Tobyn was placed at the Brace of Butchers for his work experience, which was arranged by Dorset Studio School. Prior to this, he didn’t have a clear idea of what he wanted to do after leaving school.

“However, he really enjoyed his placement and was very pleased when he was offered a permanent Saturday job, which he continues to do.

“Early this year, he spoke to them about the possibility of an apprenticeship and he was delighted to hear that he has one with them.”

Tobyn’s work experience at The Brace of Butchers proved to be a turning point. During his placement, he was able to experience the pace, standards and customer-facing nature of a real working business.
The Watercress Company, which owns and runs The Brace of Butchers, has built a close working relationship with Dorset Studio School over a number of years.

And for Tobyn, the future is already taking shape. His favourite parts of the job are customer interaction and making sausage rolls, and once his apprenticeship is complete, he hopes to continue working with the team at The Brace of Butchers.

In a county famed for its landscape and heritage, Dorset Studio School is a pioneer in land-based education.

Here, the country is the classroom – giving pupils a powerful head start in the world of work.

Principal Jason Malone previously told the WDM: “A student can study ecology from a textbook – but hand them a pair of boots, a landscape and animals, and they’ll learn to care.”

The classrooms here stretch outdoors and farms, workshops and woodlands sit on its doorstep. It really is a stunning setting.

The school was founded in 2014. The Studio moniker originated from ‘Da Vinci Studios’ – a nod to the typical Renaissance workshops or bottega, where a master artist, such as Leonardo da Vinci, would train apprentices in these learning centres where collaboration, innovation and real-life skills hold the keys to success.

Since Jason Malone took the helm, the school carries his fingerprints in a culture where learning is shaped by doing, not just observing.

Mr Malone said: “Preparing young people for a future is vital. Not only do we educate with the traditional subjects and the knowledge that goes with those, but we give them knowledge and skills that are practical and makes transitioning into the world of work much more straightforward.

“Pupils who once dreaded lessons begin turning up early, sleeves rolled up, ready to work with livestock or tackle environmental challenges. Academic subjects, taught through practical context, suddenly made sense to them.”