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Finally after all the cake-baking and fund-raising the big moment arrived! Monday saw the London interns wandering around B&Q looking slightly confused as we tried to figure out exactly how much paint would be needed for our mural and just how much ground one bag of wood-chip would cover.

On Tuesday we were joined by some of the National Interns and we all headed to Edith Neville Primary School for our Corporate Responsibility Day. In the end, after an exhausting effort, the results were great – the garden area looked much more cheerful and the murals should do the job and brighten up the playground. From the emphasis placed on this activity during our internship, it’s clear that corporate responsibility is very important to Grant Thornton.

The week ended with another informative “Lunch and Learn”. The theme this week was Advisory and we were able to chat to representatives from Business Risk Services, Recovery and Reorganisation, and Actuarial Services. I really hadn’t realised how varied GT is! This was our final “Lunch and Learn” and next week it’s the big decision time – do we want to apply for a graduate role with the company?

Week 5 and we were off to Bradenham Manor (GT’s dedicated training centre in Buckinghamshire) for the dreaded “Presentation Skills” training! In the end though I think most of us decided that this was the highlight of the internship so far. Again, we were joined by the National Interns so there were 30 of us in this beautiful rural setting for our two-day course. I had been told in advance how great the food was and it certainly didn’t disappoint! The course itself, led by Tim and Ken from New Tricks Training, was fantastic. They made the course entertaining and there was a very relaxed atmosphere. By the end everyone felt their confidence with public speaking had increased and the presentation skills we picked up should be beneficial for next year at uni, as well as in our future careers.

It was hard settling back to work after our two-day break in the country! Had to be done though since our manager review meetings were approaching… and this was when our manager would tell us if they were supporting our application for a graduate role! Luckily mine went well, so this weekend will be full of interview preparation for next week… Wish me luck!