Gordano School is delighted to announce that two of our A-Level students, Bessie and Tess, have been accepted onto the highly regarded Shape My City programme — a one-year, award-winning talent accelerator designed for 15-18-year-olds passionate about the built environment.

Shape My City will give Bessie and Tess monthly workshops led by leading firms in architecture, engineering, and urban design. The programme aims to broaden opportunities for young people — particularly those from under-represented backgrounds — to explore different disciplines, gain industry insight, and build connections that support future studies and careers.

“The application process was a few questions based on our thoughts about the places around us. Some questions asked were what our favourite place is that we visited and why, and another was based on how we would change the place we live to make it better.” said Bessie.

“The first couple of sessions have been really interesting, because different companies have come in and explained their jobs and what they do, as well as giving us interesting challenges to complete.”

“The first session we did was based on architecture. The challenge we did was to make a blueprint of a community farm space, then build it out of the materials we had around us (paper and magazines). Beyond Sixth Form I hope to get an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering and although this programme doesn’t directly help towards that, I’m really glad I got the chance to learn about other types of jobs and improve skills such as communication and teamwork.”

The school community at Gordano are immensely proud of Bessie and Tess.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for them to gain real-world insight and professional experience beyond the classroom,” said Mr Stanton, Teacher of Design & Technology. “We are incredibly proud of their achievement.”

You can find out more about the programme on their website here: www.designwest.org.uk

Gordano School remains committed to providing students with diverse pathways and experiences beyond core academic study — enabling them to explore different careers, build confidence, and develop valuable life skills such as collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving.

Huge congratulations to both students — we’re incredibly proud!