She collects medicines and distributes them to the relevant wards and says that the voluntary work means that she is making a difference and getting a structure to her life during the pandemic.

Giulia, from Year 13, is applying to study medicine at university and her voluntary work at the hospital demonstrates her commitment and also gives her experience to talk about at interviews.

She said: ‘Last year as part of my IEC project I volunteered at Lakelands Hospice in Corby and really enjoyed it. However that stopped in March and so I wanted to look out for some way to help during the pandemic. I volunteered to join the hospital and went through a lengthy vetting process before being accepted onto their volunteer team in December.

‘My role is to deliver all the medicines and patients’ charts to the wards. I have to do quite a lot of walking and have found lots of different shortcuts around the hospital. I volunteer for between four and eight hours a week and I have really enjoyed it. I have also helped with the paperwork and monitoring for the Covid vaccination of the staff. There is a minimum commitment period for volunteering and I am intending to keep doing it for as long as I can.’

Giulia, who is studying chemistry, psychology and biology at A Level, is now applying for university places to study medicine. ‘Aside from wanting to help my main reason to volunteer was that I wanted to get into an environment that would motivate me and provide some structure to my week. I am working hard for my exams but keeping focused can be challenging during lockdown so this voluntary work keeps me occupied and is great experience of working in a busy hospital.’