Erdington students serve afternoon tea: Erdington Academy students rounded off a week-long work experience placement at The Belfry Hotel & Resort by serving afternoon tea to their teachers and parents.
Throughout the week, students gained hands-on experience across several departments, including food and beverages, retail, events and guest services.
They marked the end of a successful week with a special afternoon tea in the Whisky Room in the Ryder Restaurant.
In a room lovingly prepared by the students themselves, teachers and parents enjoyed a fine spread of finger sandwiches, scones and glossy cakes as they admired the professionalism shown by every student.
Careers Lead Miss Millward said the students had put in a lot of effort to secure the placements.
She said: “Seeing our Erdington students serve afternoon tea so brilliantly at a professional venue has us all beaming with pride.
“The students being here today hasn’t happened by chance. They attended a workshop at school, joined a day trip to learn how the hotel operates, applied and then completed an interview. We wanted today to recognise the effort they’ve put in at every stage.”
Year 10 student Patrick Ugochukwu said it had been an amazing experience.
He said: “It’s shown me that I’m capable, and I’ve impressed quite a few people in the workplace. I’ve been told I can do things people train years to do, like carrying four plates at once, and I often picked things up first time.”
Erdington Academy’s partnership with The Belfry is part of Hospitality Connect, an initiative run by the Birmingham Hospitality Association, which the school has been part of for two years now.
It is designed to give young people meaningful insight into the hospitality sector, build confidence, and highlight the breadth of career pathways available.
Earlier this year, the resort welcomed the school’s Health and Fitness students to explore how their curriculum links to real-world roles, from coaching and performance analysis to leisure management and customer-facing careers.
Maia Breedon, People Manager at The Belfry Hotel & Resort, said the students had made a strong impression.
She said: “This group has been great, and they’ve grown throughout the week. Every day they’ve been a little more confident, a little more chatty, and they’ve really looked after each other.”
She added that programmes like Hospitality Connect help challenge outdated perceptions of the industry.
“We absolutely love working in hospitality and know how many opportunities it offers such as international travel, food and meeting amazing people, but unfortunately some people just see it as a stopgap. We want to inspire the next generation.
“Many of our team have worked their way up to director level. While you can do apprenticeships, you don’t need qualifications to get started, and you can build a brilliant long-term career.”