Accounting work experience that actually counts.
Two days inside a working London chartered practice. One qualified accountant. One learner. Real practice work. Signed school forms, reference letter and personal statement help on the way out.
What LOYALS Academy is, in three lines.
What it is
A premium 1-to-1 work experience programme inside a real chartered practice. One qualified accountant mentor. One learner. Two days of real practice work, structured study and personal guidance.
Who it's for
Year 11, 12 and 13 school students, and college or BTEC learners from any subject area who are exploring whether accounting or finance is the right direction for them.
What you walk out with
A certificate from LOYALS, a personal mentor reference letter, signed school forms, printed A4 guides, personal statement help, and 10 days of email Q&A with your mentor afterwards.
Two clear starting points. One serious programme for both.
Read the block that fits where you are right now. If you see yourself, you are in the right place.
You are in Year 11, 12 or 13
You are testing the field, building early evidence of interest, and thinking about college, sixth-form choices, UCAS or an apprenticeship. You want experience that does more than fill a line on your application. The Academy gives you a qualified mentor for two days, real practice work to point at, and a signed reference letter for the next thing you apply to.
You are in college or on a BTEC studying something different
You came in for art, sport, IT, hospitality or science and you are quietly wondering whether accounting or finance is actually where you would like to land. Before you commit to a degree or a switch, you want to see whether the work suits you, and you want demonstrable knowledge for any application you write next. Two days here will tell you, properly.
Two programmes. Same standards. Different depth.
Pick the right starting point - or apply with "Not sure, please advise" and we'll talk it through on the discovery call.
Foundations Programme
Sole Trader Bookkeeping, Self-Assessment & VAT
Who it suits
Year 11, 12 or 13 students new to accounting. College and BTEC students from any subject exploring the profession for the first time. The right starting point.
You will study
- The UK tax map and how a sole trader fits inside it
- Sole trader bookkeeping from raw bank data and receipts
- Self-assessment tax computation, end to end
- VAT foundations, the registration threshold and the rules
- Preparing a real VAT return, box by box
- Careers and pathways in the accounting profession
Advanced Programme
Limited Companies, Payroll, CIS & Year-End
Who it suits
Year 11, 12 or 13 students committed to accounting or business. College and BTEC students confident in their direction. Foundations graduates progressing to the next level of depth.
You will study
- Limited company structures and how companies differ from sole traders
- Directors, shareholders and the company accounting cycle
- Payroll and PAYE, processing a full monthly run
- Pension auto-enrolment and statutory pay
- CIS for construction, verification and statements
- Year-end accruals, prepayments and trial balance
- Micro-entity annual accounts under FRS 105
Foundations + Advanced bundle
Take both programmes as a single package and save £1,000 against buying them individually. Four full days of 1-to-1 mentoring covering everything from sole trader bookkeeping through to limited company year-end accounts and FRS 105 micro-entity filing. The bundle is purchased upfront, not added on afterwards.
This is not the work experience you've been offered before.
Standard UK work experience for sixth-form age learners is famously underwhelming. Here is what changes inside LOYALS Academy.
One mentor, one learner
You are paired with a qualified accountant for the two days. Not a class. Not a group session. A real 1-to-1 professional relationship that continues for 10 days after you leave, where you can email any question that comes up and get back proper written answers with detailed explanations.
Real anonymised practice work
You will work on real practice files: bank statements, receipts, payslips, CIS verifications. Anonymised so client identity is protected, but the work itself is the same work a junior in our team would touch.
Printed A4 guides to take home
At the end of the two days you take away a professionally designed set of A4 guides covering every topic you studied. Not photocopies, not stapled handouts. Properly structured reference material that lets you revisit and explain the work afterwards.
A reference letter that means something
A personal letter from your mentor, on LOYALS letterhead, written to be directly useful in a college, university, sixth-form or apprenticeship application. Specific, honest, signed. Professional reference available on request afterwards.
Personal statement help
Your mentor helps you draft the section of your personal statement that talks about the programme, so the words on the page actually match the experience you had. The kind of help that quietly moves an application from average to memorable.
Professional development, not classroom teaching
The language is professional development, not school. You are treated as a future colleague: given real responsibility, real feedback and real expectations from the moment you arrive on day one.
The person who makes this work.
The mentor is the entire point of LOYALS Academy. Here is who you will be paired with, and how the relationship runs.
A qualified, practising accountant
Your mentor is a working chartered accountant from the LOYALS team, not a student tutor or a trainee. They sit at a real desk in a real practice, dealing with real clients every week, and they will be dedicated to you for the full two days.
Enhanced DBS, always
Every mentor working with a learner under 18 holds a current enhanced DBS certificate. The full safeguarding stack including insurance endorsement, named designated safeguarding lead and parental consent forms is confirmed before each programme date.
One mentor, one learner, both days
You are not rotated between staff. The same person greets you on the morning of day one, sits beside you through every task, takes lunch with you, signs your reference letter on the afternoon of day two, and stays available by email for the ten days after.
Treats you as a future colleague
The expectations are professional, the feedback is honest, and the work is explained in plain English without being talked down to. The whole programme is designed to give you the feeling of working alongside an accountant, not being lectured by one.
The protections that sit underneath the experience.
Parents are buying access to their child's time. Trust is the single biggest thing we owe you. Here is what's in place.
Enhanced DBS checks
Every mentor working one-to-one with under-18 learners holds a current enhanced DBS certificate.
Insurance endorsed for minors on-site
Public liability and employer's liability insurance is endorsed to cover under-18 learners on-site for educational purposes.
Written safeguarding policy
A full safeguarding policy is downloadable as a PDF and approved by the named designated safeguarding lead.
Named designated safeguarding lead
A specific, named individual is publicly identified as your point of contact for any safeguarding concern, before, during or after the programme.
ICO data protection registration
LOYALS is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office. Applicant data is handled under GDPR and retained only for the period needed.
Parental consent before attendance
Parents and guardians sign consent forms covering attendance, photography, emergency medical authorisation and data processing before the learner arrives.
Emergency contact protocol
A documented protocol covers medical, safeguarding and emergency contact procedures. First aid trained staff are on-site every day of the programme.
Photography only with consent
No photograph of any under-18 learner is taken without explicit parental consent on file. The same applies to any social media use.
Chartered standards throughout
Programme delivery follows the professional standards expected of chartered accountants - ethics, confidentiality and integrity are not optional.
Nine tangible outcomes from two days.
Not a sign-off sheet. Real evidence that a chartered firm trusted you with real work, with materials and references you can actually use.
Certificate from LOYALS
A signed certificate from LOYALS Accountants & Business Consultants confirming everything you covered and learned over the two days, on letterhead, ready to attach to applications.
Personal mentor reference letter
A personal letter from your mentor, on LOYALS letterhead, written specifically to support college, sixth-form, UCAS and apprenticeship applications.
Signed school work experience forms
If your school requires sign-off forms for work experience, we complete and sign them at the end of day two so you can hand them straight back to your school office.
Work experience for your CV
A real entry to add to your CV, with specific tasks you can describe and a real organisation behind it, so the line is one you can actually defend in an interview.
Professional reference upon request
Beyond the written letter you take home, LOYALS will provide a professional reference on request for future college, university or employer applications.
Help writing your personal statement
Your mentor helps you draft the section of your personal statement that talks about the programme, so the words match the experience and the application reads like the work of someone who has actually done something.
Hands-on professional experience
Real bookkeeping, real tax computations, real VAT returns or payroll runs depending on the tier. Not a simulation, not a worksheet. The same work an accountant produces for paying clients, with you doing it under guidance.
Genuine understanding from working
The kind of understanding that only comes from doing the work rather than reading about it. By the end of day two you can explain in plain English how a sole trader's tax bill is built or how a limited company's year-end accounts come together.
Guidance on what to study next
An honest, informed conversation about the job roles open to you after college or a finance-related degree, the difference between AAT, ACCA and ACA routes, the apprenticeship options that exist, and which courses or qualifications will actually serve the direction you choose. The programme is as much about what to do next as it is about the two days themselves.
Three lines on your personal statement that actually mean something.
Admissions tutors read thousands of personal statements where "I am passionate about finance" appears without a single line of evidence. The Academy gives you the evidence - specific work you did, specific clients (anonymised) you produced output for, and a reference letter from a chartered accountant willing to back the claim.
The programme directly supports applications for these courses and pathways:
"Over two days at a London chartered practice I built a sole trader profit & loss from raw bank data, calculated the self-assessment liability including Class 2 and Class 4 NIC, and prepared a VAT return for a small café case. Walking my mentor through the work in plain English at the close of day two was the moment the field genuinely clicked for me."- Anonymised excerpt, illustrative
A placement you can put your name on.
The Academy maps directly to the Gatsby Benchmarks, runs in a regulated professional environment, and produces evidence your learners can carry into UCAS, apprenticeship and college application cycles.
Gatsby Benchmark mapping
- Benchmark 5 - encounters with employers and employees, one-to-one with qualified chartered accountants.
- Benchmark 6 - experiences of workplaces, delivered inside a working London practice.
Enquire as a school
Whether you are arranging a single placement or want to discuss multiple learners across the year, drop us a message via the form below and a member of the LOYALS team will come back to you within three working days.
Open the enquiry formFive steps from interest to confirmed place.
Applications are free. Payment is requested by invoice only after you have been formally accepted.
Submit your free application
Takes about 60 seconds. Single form for both programmes.
We review within 3 days
We look at age band, fit and motivation.
15-minute discovery call
With parent and learner under 18, or directly with the learner if 18+.
Invitation and invoice
If accepted, you receive a formal invitation, paperwork to sign by parents, and an invoice.
Place confirmed
We arrange the days of your mentorship and placement at the LOYALS office near King's Cross.
Applications are free. Places are limited. Not every applicant is accepted.
Because it is not the work experience you have been offered before.
Standard school work experience is free for a reason. So is what you usually get out of it. Here is what is genuinely different about LOYALS Academy and why the fee reflects it.
- A signed paper at the end and not much else
- Photocopying, filing and standing about
- Shared with several other students at once
- No real material to take away
- No reference that means anything specific
- No guidance on what to do next
- A dedicated 1-to-1 qualified mentor for the full two days
- Real practice work, explained personally as you do it
- Just you, no group, no shared attention
- Printed A4 guides, certificate, reference and portfolio
- A reference letter on letterhead that is genuinely useful
- An honest conversation about where to go next
What you are paying for, plainly
The full attention of a qualified, practising accountant for two working days is not a small thing. Their time is what clients pay for. The fee covers that time properly, plus the structured study materials, the lunches, the printed guides, the certificate, the reference work, the safeguarding and insurance wrap, and the ten days of email follow-up afterwards.
The programme is designed to move a college, university or apprenticeship application from average to memorable. For a learner aiming at a top course or an apprenticeship with a competitive intake, that difference is worth the investment.
Two programmes, one bundle. No hidden extras.
Every price includes lunch and drinks across the two days, all study materials, the printed A4 guides, the certificate, the personal reference letter, your mentor's full attention, and the 10-day email follow-up after the programme ends.
- All study materials and anonymised practice files
- Hands-on tasks across sole trader bookkeeping, self-assessment and VAT
- Lunch and drinks both days
- Dedicated 1-to-1 qualified mentor
- Personal mentor reference letter
- Printed A4 guides
- Signed school work experience forms
- 10-day email Q&A follow-up
- All study materials and anonymised practice files
- Limited company structures and the company accounting cycle
- Hands-on tasks across payroll, CIS, year-end and FRS 105 micro-entity accounts
- Lunch and drinks both days
- Dedicated 1-to-1 qualified mentor
- Personal mentor reference letter
- Printed A4 guides
- 10-day email Q&A follow-up
Foundations + Advanced bundle
Take both programmes as a single package. Four full days of dedicated 1-to-1 mentoring covering everything from sole trader bookkeeping through to limited company year-end and FRS 105 filings. £1,000 saving against the individual prices. The bundle must be purchased together upfront, not added on after one has been completed.
One funded place per programme
A scholarship place is offered for each programme to a learner from a lower-income or care-experienced background. Apply via the form below and tick the scholarship box. Final scholarship policy subject to confirmation.
Enquire about LOYALS Academy
One short form for everyone: students, parents and schools. Takes about 60 seconds. We respond within three working days.
Everything parents, students and schools ask before applying.
Two days, 1-to-1 inside a real practice. A reference that opens doors.
The form takes about 60 seconds. We review every enquiry personally within three working days. Mentor capacity is limited and not every applicant is accepted, so it pays to apply sooner rather than later.
Free to apply. No payment until your place is offered.