A combination of not sitting his GCSEs in the summer and getting to grips with remote learning, has no doubt made it a strange year for Harry, and many 2020 school leavers like him.

But for the 17-year-old from Ingleby Barwick, it hasn’t proven a hindrance, as just a few months down the line he has secured an apprenticeship.

One of six new recruits chosen to join Sembcorp Energy UK, he will develop his skills as an operations apprentice.

“This is a massive deal for me,” he said. “Because of Covid I didn’t get to do my exams in school, it came off your predicted grades.”

Since then, it seems, Harry has been pretty busy, starting his studies at NETA, resitting his exams and now getting a place on an apprenticeship. 

“To even get an interview was a good start for me,” he said. “To find out I had got it, was even better.”

Feeling both nervous and excited to start work on site, the former Trinity Catholic College student, said: “When I was in secondary school engineering was always my main subject, there are so many different directions you can take with it. 

“When looking for an apprenticeship I started to think about what I wanted to do. This seemed a really good one to go for, it is such a good opportunity for me.”