One of our Lighthouse students has recently undertaken work experience with the National Trust. Work experience is a vital part of our careers programme, giving students a chance to try out different roles within a work environment, and we are always very grateful to the organisations and companies that partner with us to offer this kind of experience.
For this particular student, the experience was particularly special because their time there included an impromptu piano concert – with them starring! They have kindly written up an account of their time there for us:
October 2025
I went to a National Trust venue in September for work experience – Knightshayes near Tiverton. I was delighted to be there, in a historical environment – history is my favourite subject. There were items from numerous eras in the last hundred years, and prior to World War I. There was a Ming dynasty pot, dating back 500 years; a vast library of 2500 books, from the classics of the 18th century like ‘Little Women’ and a range of Charles Dickens collections; many variations of William Shakespeare’s collection with a special edition of small books containing his most classic works, all in a glass cabinet (dating back a few hundred years). There were paintings and other items of importance… I could go on, but I have to tell you what I did during the experience.
I was assigned the role of tour guide for a room, to talk to the visitors about the place, the room, and key information of importance. I wrote in the application for the work experience that I could dabble on the piano – they took note of that. I was told that I could, to my delight, play on the piano in the main hall. So I did.
The piano echoed throughout the main hall; the piano was in tune, and each note seemed to sparkle and pop. I played Satie – Gymnopédie No. 1. This was the piece I played for most of the time, as well as Bach’s Prelude – C major, Moonlight Sonata and Clair De Lune, as they are all quiet and peaceful pieces that suited quite well to the environment.
When I had finished a piano piece, I would turn around to my surprise to find an unexpected audience of a dozen people had emerged and they were clapping. I did not know that I had amassed an impromptu crowd, for I was immersed in music. I would have been nervous had I known, but I was too fixated on the piano to notice. I was not much of a fan of the acknowledgment from the clapping of the crowd when I had finished, but it gave me a sense of pride and achievement in myself – it felt good.
If you would like to listen to the pieces I play at the Knightshayes Court in the main hall, then listen to your delight to these web links:
J.S. Bach – Prelude in C Major
