National Careers Week at Leighton Park

The future prospects and ambitions of our students were in full focus from 1st – 5th March as we celebrated National Careers Week, a national initiative now in its tenth year. The week aims to raise the profile of careers education and guidance and inspire students to explore different options for future study and the world of work. The week provides students with insights from, and connections with, employers, universities and apprenticeship providers.

Students in Years 7, 8, 9 and Lower Sixth were able to meet employers like Siemens, the NHS and PWC, as well as meet with organisations like Young Enterprise. Lower Sixth Students were able to talk to a number of different universities, as well as industry bodies like the Royal Society of Chemistry. 

Year 10 and 11 students took part in an exam preparation and revision skills sessions through the Elevate training programme. One Year 10 student commented: “This was actually really interesting. I now understand what I need to change in order to learn and revise more efficiently”, while a Year 11 student said: “I thought it was well presented and covered many things that I was unsure about. The session opened my eyes to new methods of revision and made me recognise some methods of procrastination I had been using”.

Over the last term, the focus of PSHE has been on careers education. Across the different year groups students have attended talks on aspects such as time management, preparation for employment, applying to universities outside the UK and all have had the chance to visit the Virtual Careers Fair. The Virtual Careers Fair has allowed students to access information on different sectors such as finance, STEAM, the creative industries and higher education. This has proved invaluable in supporting students to choose which areas they are interested in and focus their research as appropriate.

Sally, Head of Careers & Assistant Head of Sixth Form commented: “Students have produced some wonderful work. My favourite was the Fryer activity where students interviewed a family member about their career journey. It was fascinating to see the responses and really interesting to see how the world of work has changed in a couple of generations.”

Ava in Year 7 commented: “This work has helped me so much on working out what job I might do when I’m older. The preparation and thought gone into this is amazing and I wanted to thank you all for the amazing assignments throughout the year! They have helped me a lot”.