The next generation of designers at Oriel High School

I recently had the chance to visit Oriel High School in Crawley to take part in a fantastic mock interview event as part of their careers week. The day was designed to support the Gatsby Benchmarks, a national framework that helps students gain real experience of the workplace and meaningful encounters with employers.

Representing Made Tech , I conducted interviews for a specially created junior designer role. It was brilliant to see a diverse range of businesses involved,  from KPMG to Nestlé. 

Inside the mock design interviews

The format was similar to traditional interviews. Each of us had a desk in the school hall and students came in for 20-minute interview slots. 

I started each interview by asking what they were up to during Careers Week, what subjects they enjoyed and what they might be thinking about for the future. Whether that was university, work or apprenticeships. 

We moved into focused questions about the role, like:

• what drew them to design
• what they thought a designer might actually do
• whether anything about Made Tech’s work had stood out.

I wanted to help them reflect on their strengths, how they work with others and how they approach problems. I asked how their teachers or friends might describe them in 3 words and then we talked about how those qualities could help in a team. We explored leadership, how to support quieter voices and how to get the best out of a group. 

We also talked about different types of people you might work with in a team, how to include everyone, recognise different working styles and make sure no one gets left behind. 

Design thinking in action

Answers to ‘Have you used any apps or websites recently that frustrated you?’ were brilliant. Most picked school apps, homework tools, booking systems, and they had clear, confident ideas about what wasn’t working and how they’d fix it.

One student gave a cracking breakdown of a Snapchat user interface issue, pointing out how a poorly placed button caused confusion. They then explained how he’d redesign it to make it more intuitive. Proper interaction design thinking - even if he didn’t call it that.

Finally, I asked a big question, ‘If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?’ That opened up conversations about inequality, poverty, conflict, sports injuries and climate change.

Every student truly impressed me with their unique perspectives and passion. From a 14-year-old football referee to a future F1 designer, and a lad challenging electric vehicle norms - their diverse thinking and drive were inspiring.

Our future designers

A lot of the students were curious about Made Tech, asking what kind of work we do, how we choose our clients and how we think about ethics and sustainability. It was clear they cared about doing meaningful work and making an impact.

Some of them already sounded like designers - building, testing, learning, thinking about people and systems. Others might lean more toward product or engineering roles. Either way, I hope the conversations gave them something useful, and a glimpse of what’s possible.