From left Annie Laverty of Newcastle Hospitals with the three winners Hannah, Millie and Lily and NHSG’s Kirsty Ridley.

Three pupils from Newcastle High School for Girls (NHSG) have won the national ‘Step into the NHS’ secondary school competition prize in recognition of their innovative approach to promoting careers in healthcare.

The entry, which was submitted by Year 9 pupils Hannah, Millie and Lily, was selected from 1,483 entries by 2,455 pupils from 145 different schools.

In response to the competition brief, the three girls created an innovative information vending machine dispensing facts and figures, as well as a short film, to raise awareness of the benefits of working as a ‘dramatherapist’ within the NHS. They were presented with the award by Annie Laverty, director of patient and staff experience at Newcastle Hospitals, at a special school presentation event after which the pupils’ achievement and their winning film was displayed on a giant DigiVan which toured Newcastle stopping at iconic locations across the city.

The ‘Step into the NHS’ secondary school competition launches at the start of each school year and an overall national winner is selected from a number of regional winners. It has been designed to highlight the 350 different career pathways on offer within the NHS.

Laverty said: “It was a pleasure to attend the school assembly and be able to listen to all the students with such brilliant ideas. To have the winning proposal out of 1,483 entries is very special indeed – I’m sure the school is deeply proud.

“A big thank you, too, from all of us in the NHS, for helping to create awareness of the huge variety of NHS careers that are available to young people after leaving school.”

Kirsty Ridley, head of careers at NHSG, said: “We’re so proud of Hannah, Millie and Lily for winning the national award in this prestigious NHS competition. Their innovative solution was recognised by the judges as a truly original and powerful way to raise awareness of the rewarding career of dramatherapist. The creativity the girls displayed by presenting their findings as a vending machine, which popped out key facts was impressive, and they were so excited to see their film being shared across Newcastle on the DigiVan.”

“Understanding the many varied and specialist roles out there is so important to pupils as they develop their skills and prepare themselves for the world of work, so taking part in this competition has been hugely beneficial not only to our winners, but to every pupil who meticulously researched, planned and delivered their thoughtful entries based on a diverse range of healthcare careers.”

Darren Aldrich, head of communications at NHS Health Careers, said: “We’d like to congratulate Hannah, Millie and Lily on their incredible NHS job advert and being crowned our Step into the NHS secondary school overall competition winners for 2023-2024. Our judges were bowled over with the girls’ highly original concept and the research they’d undertaken to bring the role of NHS dramatherapist to life. We’d like to thank everyone from Newcastle High School for Girls for their hard work, in particular recognising the achievements of the school’s highly commended awardees.

“Every year, we are always impressed with the hundreds of amazing entries from students exploring the more than 350 NHS careers. We hope that this win will inspire students to raise their career aspirations and help them feel more confident in their job-seeking skills.”

Newcastle High School for Girls is an independent all-through school for girls aged three to 18 school and is part of the Girls Day School Trust.