Careers
Careers Advice and Guidance
Our Sixth Form careers programme aims to prepare and support students during the transition between college and university or work. This can be a daunting time for many students, and we are here to support them every step of the way.
Students follow a careers curriculum enriched by outside organisations including Universities, volunteering organisations, local employers and apprenticeship providers.
Our Careers Manager, Gavin Bowles, is based in the main school and is available to meet with students one-to-one to give advice on applying for post-18 opportunities.
Events and opportunities are posted on the Google Classroom '6th Form Careers'. This is updated daily with a host of jobs, volunteering opportunities, apprenticeships, university summer schools and taster events, help with applications, and lots more.
Sixth Form Work Experience
All Year 12 students are encouraged to undertake a week of work experience during the summer term. This should be relevant to the courses they are studying and their future aspirations. Students are given a Work Experience Guide early in the Spring Term which explains how this works, and a copy is available for parents/carers to refer to in the Letters section.
Our Sixth Form Administrator, Pauline Carroll, co-ordinates the Work Experience programme and is on hand to give advice.
We have a limited number of contacts with local employers, which is shared with students in the Spring Term. We encourage students not to rely on this list, but it is a good starting point as many of the employers have taken our students in the past. Opportunities are being added to this throughout the year so students should keep checking it. There are also opportunities for virtual work experience or career experience events with larger companies which are listed on our Careers Google Classroom.
Students feedback:
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"My Work Experience placement gave me a good insight into a particular field of Engineering."
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"My work placement gave me further knowledge and understanding of different careers that computer science could lead to and gave me some experience in each of these areas."
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"I gained a wider understanding of freelance work, how to manage yourself and your clients. It also helped with my photography and industry knowledge."
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"My placement gave me a glimpse of what animal care is like, which has confirmed that as a possible future career."
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"I found the whole Work Experience very informative and engaging."
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"I would like to study accounting and finance at university – my work placement showed me the variety of sectors and jobs that are available in this field of work."
