FOR youngsters at one York primary school the world of work no longer seems a remote prospect.

Pupils at Tang Hall primary school got to meet a female firefighter, staff from York City Football Club, representatives from the army and the police, local journalists and television presenter and broadcaster Harry Gration among others as part of their aspirations week.

Teacher Fiona McCallion said: “We enjoyed having all the visitors. It makes the school much more exciting for the children and is part of the school embracing the idea of a creative curriculum.

“The ideas the children have got from the visitors can be fostered and nurtured and can become something bigger later in life. Importantly the children have seen that you have to work very hard to get what you want.

“Many of the people who came and talked to the children have started out right down at the bottom of the career ladder and worked their way up, none of them were born with a silver spoon in their mouth.”

The children thoroughly enjoyed the week – Kai Vignau, 11, who wants to go to university to become a doctor, said his favourites were Harry Gration and York City Football Club development team He said: “I learned about climbing up the career ladder and having to work very hard to get your dreams. I’ll probably get a weekend job when I’m old enough.

“The best thing about the week was meeting new people.”

Grace Bruce, ten, said she wants to go to university and be a fashion designer. She met Lisa Butler, who owns Moda Hair salon in York.

Grace said: “I think I’ll end up with a job I don’t like at first. I don’t want to work in an office.

“We learned about lots of new things and the different jobs involved in business.”

Ten-year-old Leon Richardson wants to be a rugby player and his granddad, Dave Watkinsons, was a rugby league player and knew Harry Gration through his sports commentating, but he was also impressed by Lisa Butler.

He said: “She told us how she had three jobs at one time to afford to train to be a hairdresser and then she travelled the world on the QE2.”

Meanwhile, young entrepreneurs at Knavesmire Primary School were busy designing and making products during their Enterprise Week.

This involved the children looking at materials, methods, design, costing and technology and incorporating teamwork and communication to create their finished products.

Each class set themselves a financial target and the money will be used in a variety of ways by the class, including sponsoring the rainforest and supporting Oxfam in providing school supplies for children overseas. Any money which exceeds their target will be donated to the Save Our Hearts appeal.

At the end of the week the school held an Enterprise Fair where the classes displayed their wares for parents to view, and buy, and local entrepreneurs came to judge the products.

Headteacher Adam Cooper said: “It has been a fantastic week again this year. I’m pleased that all of our pupils have been involved in Enterprise Week. We think it is important that children are prepared for future life – so it’s exciting to be involved creatively with local businesses in an innovative way.”