Future career prospects were showcased to 240 teenagers at one of the largest schools in Warwickshire as part of a region-wide roadshow.
Year 10, 11 and 12 students from Nicholas Chamberlaine School in Bulkington Road, Bedworth, had an opportunity to hear from experts in the worlds of apprenticeships, Further Education and Higher Education in the Your Future Careers Roadshow.
Nicholas Chamberlaine School was among 16 schools taking part in the sessions which have been organised by the Coventry & Warwickshire Careers Hub, which was launched by the Careers & Enterprise Company in 2019 and brought to the area by Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP), in partnership with ThinkHigher.
Alex Parsons-Moore, careers lead at Nicholas Chamberlaine School, said the students had been split into different groups to hear impartial advice about their post-16 futures.
He said: “It was the first time we have held a careers roadshow in this format and we are grateful to the Careers Hub and ThinkHigher for organising it. As a member of the Griffin Schools Trust, we are always looking to widen our students' horizons and have a vision that they will take their place in the world rather than having this dictated to them.
“From our point of view, it gave our students advice and information from a wider choice of careers options for them to consider following their GCSEs so that they are aware of all the opportunities that are open to them.
“The advice was also impartial which is really important so that students can think about the best path for them.
“I was really pleased year 12 students attended since they have missed a lot of opportunities of this kind because of the pandemic and from September, year 11 pupils have big decisions to make so this was perfect timing.
“The feedback from all those who attended was really positive and it has been really worthwhile.”
Enterprise co-ordinator Emma Culey from Coventry & Warwickshire Careers Hub, who is part-funded by Think Higher Coventry and Warwickshire which is a partnership of local Higher and Further Education providers and local authorities and supported by CWLEP, said the sessions had been split into four different workshops.
“This is our third Your Future Careers Roadshow and they are going really well,” she said. “The students at Nicholas Chamberlaine School were really engaged and enjoyed it which is great.
“We organised the workshops into four areas – Preparing for the Workplace was led by Coventry University student Holly Gilbert and highlighted good and bad practice to prepare for job interviews such as turning up on time, not staring out of the window or forgetting which job you had applied for!
“Beth Taylor Logie from the University of Warwick spoke about Higher Education and her experience of university life while there was also a discussion from Ask Apprenticeships which included a quiz and Further Education options including A-Levels and BTECs at sixth-form or colleges.
“It sparked some interesting discussions and gave the students plenty of food for thought when they are considering their next steps following their GCSE exams, and we wish them all the best of luck.”
The other schools taking part are Rugby Free Secondary School, The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College, and Bilton School in Rugby; Henley-in-Arden School; Coventry’s Sidney Stringer Academy, Ash Green School, SEVA School and Grace Academy Coventry; Stratford upon Avon School; Trinity Catholic School in Leamington; Myton School in Warwick; Hartshill School, The Nuneaton Academy and The George Eliot School in Nuneaton; and The Queen Elizabeth Academy in Atherstone.
Caption: Charlotte Douglass from ThinkHigher (third, left), Alex Parsons-Moore from Nicholas Chamberlaine School (fourth, left) and Emma Culey from Coventry & Warwickshire Careers Hub (fifth, left) with, from the left, Nicholas Chamberlaine School Year 10 students Oliver Tizick, Lois Houlihan, Jasmin Maynard and Matthew Hall