By Tracey Mardell, St Catherine's

During my two weeks of work experience at Beyond The Fringe salon I have felt nothing but part of the team, which was absolutely amazing, and I felt that I had been working there for ages.

Despite the fact that I am a client there, the staff were lovely and made me feel welcome and I'm glad I decided to do my work experience there.

Work experience is very important to both the student and the employer for many reasons.

Firstly, the student gets a taste of what work is really about, how different it is from school and how education helps with work.

The employer, however, gets to know and see what the student is capable of doing.

From doing work experience I am now fully aware that the day is longer, and not forgetting more demanding than a normal day at school. I have learnt a number of skills - for example, what shampoo helps to thicken hair, help with dandruff etc - met different people, learnt how demanding work is, learnt to develop my personal social key skills, increased my confidence and motivation to succeed and now know what it is like in the adult world.

Also I know what it feels like to be part of a team, I am aware of my own strengths and weaknesses, how to deal with clients and how to deal with situations away from school.

For the employer work experience gives them an idea of what the student is like working in his/her environment, shows that the company takee on people for work experience, gives the employer an idea of what the student is capable of doing, know whether they would employ that person in his/her environment, and the clients get to meet different work experience people.

Also, it gives the staff a chance to work with students who are on work experience. "It's great working with students, you get to teach them things they don't know", said Jenny, senior stylist.

After doing work experience I can use the skills that I have developed over the two weeks if I decided to do hairdressing in the future. I also feel that there is a lot more to school and now know why it is important to concentrate.

I have experienced the adult world and feel that I have achieved a lot in just two weeks. Working in a salon, the work has to be of a high standard. "We make sure our clients feel amazing every day with our home package", said Chris, my supervisor.