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The King's School

The King's School Founded 1545

Achievement for All

Careers Support

Our Aims

The aims of The King’s School Careers Guidance Programme are:

  • To help our students to understand and explore all the options and pathways that are open to them
  • To raise students’ aspirations and challenge stereotypes
  • To address the needs of all our students, and provide independent advice that is in their individual best interests
  • To meet the Gatsby Benchmarks – a series of benchmarks that set out best practice in the provision of careers guidance activities.

We want to prepare our students for life after school, so that when students leave after Year 11 or 13 they do so with confidence and optimism in their chosen next steps.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of the Careers Programme, please contact the Careers Coordinator.

Our Programme

In line with the Gatsby Benchmarks, The King’s School delivers a stable and structured programme of careers education and work related learning to all students in Years 7-13.  This programme is delivered by individuals with the right skills and experiences, from a wide variety of providers both internal and external to the school. 

Year Group

  Activities

Year 7 and 8

Introduction to Careers via PSHE. Activities structured around learning how to

  1. reflect on their own skills, interests and values
  2. research the wider world of work to understand what options exist now and may exist in the future

Year 9

As above, plus

  • Choosing your GCSE Options (Exeter College – PAL session) – January.
  • Second PAL session to be scheduled for summer term.
  • Advisor from CSW in attendance at Parents’ Evening

Year 10

  • Work Experience
  • Bicton College Taster Event for Entry / Foundation Level
  • Students invited to Careers Interviews as required
  • PAL session via Ask (Amazing Apprenticeships) (note, this provider will change for 2024/25, to avoid duplication).

Year 11

  • Mock Interviews with matched interviewers from the local community. 
  • Careers linked to subjects (via A level / Level 3 options lessons)
  • All students invited to Careers Interview with an independent Careers Advisor via CSW
  • College Transition visits and taster days for Entry/Foundation Level and PP students
  • PAL session via Ask (Amazing Apprenticeships)
  • Advisor from CSW in attendance at Parents’ Evening and GCSE Results Day

Year 12

Via the PSHE Programme

  • Why go to University
  • Alternatives to University (PAL Session)
  • Apprenticeships (PAL Session – using Alumni)

In addition,

  • Work Experience
  • All students taken to the UCAS Higher Education Fair (Westpoint)
  • Careers Interviews offered

Year 13

  • Assembly on “Not Going to University”
  • Individual support with UCAS, apprenticeship and employment applications.
  • Careers Interviews offered

Tutor Programme

  • There is a selection of Tutor Activities available to all Tutors, this includes games such as Panjango.

All Years

All subjects have embedded Careers Activities within their Curriculum areas.  For example, talks by external speakers and alumni (particularly Maths and Geography), hands-on activities (e.g., the Royal Navy and Food Science), and use of recommended resources to link curriculum learning to careers (e.g., Maths, Science and English use of My Path “Why Bother”?).

* The CSW Group Adviser is also available in school for events including ‘Post 16 Options’, Year 9 Parents / Options Evening and on GCSE and A Level results days.  They are also available to 6th Formers on request and to Year 10 on an invitation-only basis.   

 

Other Encounters with Employers

Throughout the year we host outside speakers through a range of mechanisms – including assemblies, lunchtime talks, or in lessons. The lunchtime talks are open to all year groups, and we invite local businesses, approved training providers and our alumni to contact us if they wish to deliver a session.  Our Provider Access Statement is an annex to our Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Policy, available here under our Policy documents on this website. 

We meet the requirements of the Provider Access Legislation, with a minimum of two mandatory encounters with approved providers of apprenticeships and technical education for all KS3 and KS4.  In addition, our encounters for KS5 are also mandatory.

The Careers Library

The Careers Library has IT facilities for online research and key texts that are renewed annually.  In addition, we provide a full set of prospectuses covering most UK Higher Education institutions, all local FE colleges and many other specialised colleges. The Careers Coordinator is based in the Careers Library, and is available to assist students at break, lunch and tutor time.

Recommended Online Resources

The websites below are for students to access information on careers and employability skills:

CareerPilot
This website provides information on the full range of choices available at 14, 16 and 18, including apprenticeships, college, higher level study, etc.
The website has a number of tools that students can use to help them plan their careers and assess their employability skills.  There is also a Parent Zone with answers to career related questions.

i could
icould.com has excellent videos to inspire students, and a quiz based on Myers Briggs (the Buzz Quiz) to help students think about their personality and what type of career they might suit.

Success at school
This website has helpful articles and sections about how to develop transferable skills, information about apprenticeships, advice from people in different industries, plus industry and sector information presented in an easy-to-digest format. 

Informed Choice guide
This is a Russell Group guide to making informed choices about post-16 Education.  It is packed with useful information, and the “5 Point Plan” for making A Level choices is a good tool for clarifying your thoughts (see Page 56).