Careers

Pupil entitlement:

All pupils in years 8-13 are entitled:

• to find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities,
  as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of
  education and training options available at each transition point;
• to hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including
  technical education and apprenticeships – through options events, assemblies and group
  discussions and taster events;
• to understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical
  courses.
• to receive independent careers guidance.

The Department’s Offer

Our Careers programme is designed to allow students a broad education and exposure to as many different careers areas as possible, in order to help them decide what they want to do when they leave school. All girls have access to Unifrog where they can research all qualifications and opportunities, sign up to webinars about careers, pathways and application processes, as well as keep a record of all their Careers work whilst at CLSG. Parents are also given access to Unifrog so they can support their daughters.

In Sixth Form, girls are closely supported with the whole process of application preparation in Year 12 through to acceptance of a place in Year 13. The Careers course is delivered through PSCHE, assemblies and one off events with admissions tutors and other external speakers invited into school. All girls will receive an induction into the concept of university and the type of question they need to be asking themselves in terms of decision making. We run a Higher Education Evening for parents and pupils in Year 12 during which admissions tutors from a large number of distinguished institutions visit the school to answer girls’ and parents’ queries. Tutors attend from Oxford, Cambridge, King’s Imperial, LSE and UCL to name a few.

Enrichment classes run in Year 12, as well as a UCAS Day during which girls are helped to begin their UCAS forms and to start their personal statements. In Year 13 there is a full package of mock interview support which is organised through the Careers Department in conjunction with appropriately trained volunteers from local industry, as well as long running partnerships with specialists in Oxbridge style questioning.

For students planning to study Medicine, we offer a tailored package of support via our MEDSOC – runing at lunchtimes once a week for Year 12 from January until the November of Year 13. Specialist advice is offered to these girls in terms of organising work experience, finalising university choices, as well as understanding how to apply in the most strategic manner by playing to one’s strengths. In addition, we work closely with the Medic Portal and FastTrack Medical to provide UCAT and BMAT preparation courses and an MMI workshop.

For those students planning to study in America, we have a US Counsellor – Dr Jennie Sutton – who works closely with students and their families as they prepare their University Applications. Additionally, we offer students in year 12 a weekly meeting, timetabled as an ‘extra’ subject option, to prepare for US university applications. In the last five years, students have won places at Brown, Columbia, Georgetown, NYU, Princeton and the University of Chicago. We also support girls applying to Canada and elsewhere in the world. This year applications have included Toronto, McGill, Sciences Po and Bocconi.

The Careers department organises half termly ‘Life after City’ career talks for Year 9 to Year 13 through PSCHE. There are normally three speakers per session and they are selected with contrast in mind so that students are able to tailor a programme of talks which suits their personal interests.

The department runs a biennial Careers Convention held for Year 9 and above, at which girls are able to speak to employers from a wide range of careers, as well as network for work experience opportunities. There is an active Careers Committee formed of Year 12 girls, offering them the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in events planning and organisation, both for CLSG students and parents as well as for those in our partner schools.

In addition to advice offered in school, the girls have access to our independent partner Careers Advisor from Prospects – Melrose Gray – who is scheduled to see girls one-to-one in Year 9 and again in Year 11. She is also available to Year 7 and 8, should any girl wish to access her impartial advice.

All Year 11 girls undertake work experience after their GCSEs, and the Careers department offers assistance with drawing up CVS and Cover letters in preparation for this. We encourage girls to find their own placements, but assist with contacts when required.

In Year 10, girls take part in ‘City Girls in the City’ and are given a selection of programmes to choose from in order to find out more about different types of jobs. Choices include Banking, Law, Publishing, Tech and Architecture in the City. Girls are able to visit a number of institutions and workplaces to find out more about their chosen area. Year 10 girls are also taken on a trip to Queen Mary University of London to get a sense of what a campus, non-Oxbridge university is like. The girls use Unifrog to start researching degree and apprenticeship options.

In Year 9, girls take part in ‘City Girls in the Arts’ and participate in a film day, during which they produce their own films and find out more about Careers in the Arts. In addition, girls in Year 9 complete an interest based questionnaire via the computer careers research program ‘Fast Tomato’ in their PSCHE lessons and this helps them to identify career areas that may be of interest to them. Girls have the opportunity to research more into unknown career paths that may be of interest to them via this programme.

In Year 8, girls take part in ‘Take your daughters to work day’ and ‘City Girls in Science Day’ which involves undertaking tasks that allow the girls to gain an understanding of Careers in the STEM subjects. Girls in Year 8 are also given the opportunity to take part in the Building Futures Project run by locally based Engineering firm ‘Mace’.

In Year 7, girls participate in the ‘Real Game’ which allows them to experience adult life through an interactive computer-simulated programme. Girls also take part in an Engineering Day, run by the Physics Department, which allows them to experience the problems and challenges that face engineers on a daily basis.

The Careers Department works hard with outreach and where possible, we invite partner COL (and other) schools to benefit from the events we run, particularly in Year 12 and 13.

How CEIAG is monitored and reviewed at CLSG

We are a department that is continually striving to improve and we listen carefully to our stakeholder
feedback which is collected via short online forms following the events, talks and experiences we
organise. In addition, pupil feedback is gathered termly by the Pastoral Team via Form Captain
Meetings and Junior and Senior School Council meetings. Whole school feedback is collated yearly
from parent surveys and the Friend’s Committee Meetings and this is also scrutinised carefully to
ensure we develop in accordance to our community’s needs. We adjust our activities each time we
organise them, in accordance with feedback from the previous year.

Further information

Should you wish to find out more about the work of the careers department here at City, please contact Eleanor Perkins, head of careers and higher education, or Rebecca Anstee, assistant head of careers. For US university information, please contact Jennie Sutton, US counsellor.

Please find our A Level reform policy here.