Year 13 student Henry Philips has been awarded a year-long paid work experience placement with the international energy and petrochemical company, Shell.
Henry had to complete a rigorous and competitive process to win the paid placement. After registering with The Year In Industry (YINI), part of the Engineering Development Trust, his CV was forwarded to Shell who invited him and eight others for interview at their Chester Technology Centre.
“At the interview, I was asked about a varied set of topics, from general chemistry to fuel science, and ending up with the rights and responsibilities of a large company when searching for oil. The main advantage I had was that I had carried out an immense amount of research, and my chemistry knowledge on the subjects I was asked about was sound. The next I heard was when YINI called me telling me I'd been offered the placement,” said Henry.
His role will involve laboratory work – including developing new fuel additives – as well as assisting in applying for patents and data collation and analysis.
“Henry has done exceptionally well to win this placement with Shell,” said Assistant Head David Ryan. “We are delighted to see many of our students recruited by leading companies for a gap year placement. Indeed in the past few years we have seen leavers from Queen Elizabeth’s succeed in rigorous selection processes for organisations such as The Bank of England, PricewaterhouseCoopers and The Rothschild Group. Henry’s success shows just what is possible with ambition and hard industry.”
Henry is studying Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Further Mathematics at A-level.