On 24th October 2019, for the second time, we held a whole school Careers Day. Once again, the aim of the day was to inspire pupils’ exploration of career opportunities and offer advice and guidance for their future career choices.
Etone follows The Gatsby Foundations ‘Good Career Guidance’ which states that “good career guidance is critical if young people are to raise their aspirations and capitalise on the opportunities available to them. At Etone, we work hard to promote impartial careers advice and guidance to our pupils and our Careers Day covered many different genres of careers and encouraged aspirations for all.
Year 7
Year 7 spent the day attending talks and workshops with a number of different companies including the Police and Fire Service and also discovered the world of manufacturing, hospitality and games design. Pupils were treated to a visit from a police car as well as demonstrations from the fire service, a web quest and designing a new computer game!
Year 8
Pupils in Year 8 took part in CCF workshops learning about the different aspects of the RAF and understanding more about being a part of CCF in school. Some pupils also had the opportunity to work with Wilmott Dixon, our Business in the Community partner, on some tailored projects.
Year 9
The West Midlands Ambulance service joined us for the day, offering demonstrations, techniques, careers advice and information about joining the service. Pupils were also able to take a look around the fast response vehicle and ask lots of questions about life as a paramedic. Pupils also received talks and information about roles in engineering and project design.
Year 10
Pupils were given lots of opportunities to spend time working with representatives from local universities, landscapers, computer engineering and driving ambitions. Lots of skills were taught and advice given about all the different roles available to pupils should they wish to follow a career path into these areas.
Year 11
The theme for Year 11 was next steps and all pupils in school were given a Careers Interview with a member of the Senior Leadership team. They had to complete an initial form of their skills and aspirations before embarking on their interviews. These were highly successful and we have been able to direct pupils to opportunities that have since become available. Following the interviews, pupils were invited to attend groups of discussions with Coventry University, Newman College University, Driving Ambitions and a unique opportunity to discover studying abroad. The final task for Year 11 was to experience lift in Etone Sixth Form and ask lots of questions about their pending applications. A selected number of pupils were taken offsite to visit the University of Birmingham for an in-depth look at how a university operates and what they can expect.
Year 12 & 13
Year 12 pupils had experiences with university representatives, with a particular focus being on UCAS applications and university life expectations. There was also some sessions with engineering and RAF representatives as well as an opportunity to work on their personal statements.
Year 13 were taken offsite to experience life at De Montfort University in Leicester with the focus being transition to university, time management and experiencing life at university.
The Careers Day was a huge success and pupils had a plethora of opportunities and wealth of information to assist with their future career choices when they finally leave Etone College.
We are already very excited about hosting our 4th Annual Careers Fair on 19th March 2020 which will allow a further opportunity for pupils to meet with prospective employers, apprenticeship providers and further education establishments to discuss their futures and careers aspirations.
We also look forward to running another career day in the near future.
