Stroud work experience student gets surprise treat on SNJ placement

But when Year 13 Wycliffe student Natalie Newport, 17, turned up at the Stroud News and Journal office reporter Megan Titley broke the news that the two of them would be spending the morning doing just that.

She reports on her experience.

‘FIND an amazing talent and apply it to the vehicle’ said a spokesman as he showed us around the luxury cars at The Rybrook dealership at Bristol’s Cribbs Causeway.

It wasn’t hard to imagine that this is what the designers of Rolls-Royce cars had been trying to do.

The luxurious surrounding we were faced with matched the sleek surfaces of the £260,000 cars.

The Ghost, the Phantom and the Dawn watched us while we interviewed James Warren, head of corporate communications for the UK and Western Europe.

He described buying one of these magnificent cars ‘like buying a watch or a belt, we treat it like a treat,’ he said.

The slightly intimidating atmosphere set by the chauffeur driven Rolls-Royces was soon broken as Megan and I attempted taking a ‘selfie’ with The Spirit of Ecstacy.

However, the most memorable part of the day for me was receiving driving advice for my driving test in December from Simon Shaw, one of the well experienced chauffeurs and driving trainers who has been with Rolls-Royce for five years.

He told me ‘always be aware of your surroundings and know where you are on the road’.

It was one piece of advice I would not have forgotten if I had been Megan, as later that day she was given the opportunity to drive the new white convertible, Dawn.

Undecided on whether she felt like Aladdin or Jasmine, Megan said it was like driving a magic carpet.

When applying for work experience with the SNJ I never imagined I would be spending the day being chauffeured around in one of the most expensive cars on the planet.

I think I can safely say its topped being brought in to my second day of work experience in Dad’s old faithful BMW.