Careers News - Term 2 Update

All through this term I have been conducting individual career interviews with Year 11 students and this will continue in Term 3. Every student is offered this opportunity to talk through any career ideas that they may have, ask questions and get any information that they might need to support them with their choices for Post-16 options and the future beyond. Each student gets a copy of the interview notes which include next steps to help them move forward with their plans and preparations. I am always fascinated by the wide range of career options that our students explore and encourage parents to get involved in that exploration process too.

All students have access to Unifrog, licensed through the school, which has many tools to help in this process but I also recommend www.careerpilot.org.uk as a useful website that parents can access to find out more about options available, explore jobs linked to subjects studied, and get up to date labour market information including salary data, numbers of jobs, and projections for the future job market.

Year 10 Work Experience was launched in November and the deadline will come quickly in January so I recommend that all students take some time over the holidays to contact employers and arrange a placement. Do check the Year 10 Work Experience website and Work Experience Guidance on the School cloud for more tips and resources. Don’t forget that placements must be in person (not virtual) and cannot be authorised for working from home or with lone workers due to safeguarding requirements.

As Christmas approaches, I am busy making final checks and sending the Year 13 university applications. Thank you to the students, staff and parents for helping to get everything ready in good time and for your patience whilst I work through the individual checks. With many applications sent earlier in the term students are already receiving offers from universities and several were invited for interview with Oxford and Cambridge Universities and for Medical interviews too.

For those students seeking apprenticeship opportunities we ran workshops on CVs and LinkedIn, interview skills and Mock Assessment Centre. Individual guidance interviews are ongoing to offer personalised support for applications.

Mrs Jenny Douse Head of Careers