Bolton School Careers Department

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1 Department

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3 Careers Education Aims Every Bolton School (Boys Division) pupil should leave the school prepared for life in modern Britain. This means ensuring academic rigour supported by excellent teaching, and developing in every young person the values, skills and behaviours they need to get on in life. All pupils should receive a rich provision of classroom and extra-curricular activities that develop a range of character attributes, such as resilience and grit, which underpin success in education and employment. Amongst these high quality, independent careers guidance is crucial. It enables our pupils to become more fully rounded and ready for the world of work. Our pupils want and need to be well-informed when making subject and career decisions. Our aim is to provide careers guidance for all year 7-13 pupils. It is intended to inspire and motivate them to fulfil their potential. We insist that they develop high aspirations and consider a broad and ambitious range of careers. We aim to inspire them through real-life contacts with the world of work which can help them understand where different choices can take them in the future. Our careers education programme provides a range of activities which include employer talks, careers fairs, motivational speakers, work experience programmes, independent careers guidance, skills development, advice and mentoring. We work in partnership with alumni, local employers and other education and training providers like colleges, universities and apprenticeship providers to ensure that all pupils needs are catered for. We work consciously to prevent all forms of stereotyping in the advice and guidance that we provide, to ensure that boys from all backgrounds and diversity groups consider the widest possible range of careers, including those that are often portrayed as primarily for one or other of the sexes. We actively encourage our pupils to take any opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills for self-employment and make it clear to them that working for themselves is a viable option. Through a combination of all three strands of the careers educations, pupils receive the advice and support necessary to build and develop their own jobs, and have a clear understanding of potential barriers.

4 Careers There are three strands to the careers education provision at Bolton School (Boys Division) Careers Skills Development, Careers Information and Career Guidance. This differs slightly from the government terminology as we feel that it is more understandable for our pupils and their parents. Careers Information Careers Skills Career Guidance This is the component in which boys learn about the various careers open to them. It is delivered with the cooperation and assistance of a number of outside agencies and organisations. We rely heavily on the alumni network to help inform and inspire the pupils. Examples of careers information events include the careers carousels, the alumni talks, the careers days, the World of Work day and the careers fair. We develop the skills the boys will need to succeed in the work place. This is delivered using both inhouse and outside expertise. The Career Skills begins in Year 8 but is more focussed on pupils in the middle and upper schools. Activities which develop pupils skills include the Interview Skills evening, the C.V. workshops, the Business Enterprise competition, the work experience programmes, the KPMG internship scheme, the Cowgill s Future Stars programme and work shadowing. Career Guidance at the school offers personalised, impartial and independent careers guidance to pupils in Year 9, Year 11 and Year 13. This is delivered using both on-line resources and outside organisations. It is timed to coincide with points in our pupils school career when significant decisions are made for post-14, post-16 and post-18 options. In addition, all boys in every year group have access to the careers assistants who work outside of the Boys Division academic and pastoral framework and can therefore offer impartial advice and help.

5 Year Information Skills Guidance Year 7 Careers carousel Work shadowing Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Careers carousel Work experience CV skills workshop Army Leadership day Kudos careers programme Morrisby profiling assessments Year 11 Year 12 Year 13 Alumni talks World of Work Alumni talks Alumni talks Work experience Film School Work experience CV development Interview skills evening Business Enterprise competition 2-Day BEST programme 2-Day Army Leadership course KPMG summer internship Cowgill s Future Stars Programme Work experience Employer days Morrisby profiling interviews Careers mentoring scheme Non UCAS route Careers mentoring scheme Non UCAS route

6 CAREERS Bolton School (Boys Division) Careers Programme Interview Skills An interview skills evening is run annually for Year 12 pupils. A number of volunteers who have considerable interviewing experience in the public and private sectors come into school and deliver mock interviews for the pupils. This is in preparation for forthcoming university and job interviews. The pupils indicate a career area and whenever possible are matched with an interviewer. Their CV is sent off and then the pupils undertake an interview based on their interests and experiences. At the end of the process they receive verbal and written advice about how to improve both their CV and their interview performance. Work Shadowing Careers Carousels Careers carousels take place in Year 7 and Year 9. These events introduce and develop the idea of careers for the younger pupils. They take place during the SPACE sessions and often involve alumni or friends of the school coming in to talk about their careers, the opportunities that are available and the skills that are required. These are usually very popular and give the boys some idea to the variety of careers that are open to them when they leave Bolton School. Work Shadowing takes place after the summer exams in Year 8. All boys in the year participate in the work shadowing day, usually in the workplace of a family member or friend. The pupils gain an insight into the world of work as well as gaining and developing the soft skills that employers look for, such as self-reliance, confidence and the ability to work in groups and teams. World of Work The World of Work is an annual event for Year 12 pupils. A number of different speakers from a variety of different careers fields are invited into school to run sessions. Pupils are free to choose a selection of talks and seminars which best suit their interests and future plans.

7 Army Leadership Day Year 10 boys are put through their paces by Army instructors during the annual leadership afternoon. The boys face a variety of challenges designed to improve their teamwork, leadership, problem solving, agility and fitness. For some boys it opens their eyes to a career in the forces, for the rest it develops desirable personal skills. Year 12 Development Week During the event the visiting soldiers assess the boys team work skills and leadership potential with prizes awarded for the best team and the most inspiring individual pupil. Kudos Careers Kudos is an impartial online careers guidance and information program that helps young people plan their future and make informed decisions. Kudos is ideal for year olds. It provides young people a personalised experience based on their interests and educational aspirations to suggest suitable careers. It is delivered in tutor groups in time for the boys GCSE option choices in Year 9. BEST The Business Enterprise and Skills Training (BEST) course is a bespoke business awareness course run by the Bolton School careers department for all Year 12 pupils. The aims of the course are to provide an insight into the world of business and enterprise, to practice the skills required during the recruitment process and to enhance our pupils general interpersonal skills. The course has been designed and is delivered by a number of experts from the fields of marketing, production, sales, human resources and management. It comprises a variety of lectures, seminars and challenging team tasks which culminate in group presentations. It benefits the boys when they come to apply for university. Army Leadership Course All year 12 boys will be involved in a two-day Army residential course which will take place at the same time as the other half year group are doing BEST. It is a Leadership course which will involve working in teams to achieve a variety of tasks including physical and fieldcraft activities and a humanitarian aid planning exercise culminating in delivering the solution as a presentation.

8 KPMG SUMMER INTERNSHIP Every summer, two Bolton School Year 12 pupils benefit from summer internships at KPMG, one of the big four accounting firms. The pupils spend two weeks of their summer holiday working at KPMG s Manchester office dividing their time between the Corporate Finance team and the Financial Services Audit department. They have to go through a rigorous selection process which replicates the full graduate recruitment at the firm. Not only does it provide excellent work experience, it also gives the pupils an insight into life in a busy corporate environment. COWGILL S FUTURE STARS PROGRAMME The Cowgill s Future Stars programme has been designed to give two sixth form students an in-depth insight into the world of business and finance. The pupils spend one week during each of the Autumn and Spring Term holidays and two weeks during the summer with this large North West Chartered Accountant. They will complete a wide range of tasks including: attending meetings, project work and shadowing senior managers in audit, tax, business recovery, wealth management, corporate finance and marketing departments. The rigorous selection process and valuable experience gained from the placement will give them the opportunity to sample a graduate scheme.

9 CV DEVELOPMENT The Y12 boys undertake a tutor-led package designed to update their CVs in preparation for applying to university, post-18 employment or local part-time work. The series of exercises is based on the practices and advice of a leading recruitment firm. MORRISBY In the summer term, all Year 10 boys undertake the Morrisby careers process. It is based on an assessment and questionnaire which measure a variety of elements including aptitudes, career interests, work preferences and motivations. Once the assessment is complete, students have access to personally tailored career and education suggestions, plus a wealth of careers-related resources. When the results of the assessment are complete, each boy and his parents receive a bespoke careers interview with an independent careers adviser. This will help him to choose the right path post-16.