Careers Overview

We believe that all students in our Academy will experience a high quality education ensuring that all children gain the social, intellectual and cultural capital necessary for a choice filled life. Raising aspiration is extremely important to us and we aim to develop the understanding that learning, and the experiences that take place within and around learning, can be the route to enhanced opportunities. The mission of our college is such that all are encouraged to develop their talents as fully as possible for others in the spirit of ‘What more can I do, what more can I give?’

At Birches Head Academy, we are committed to providing the highest quality information, advice, guidance and inspiring opportunities to all students in order to ensure students are fully supported and empowered to shape their future lives and careers. When our students leave school they face challenging decisions about their future studies and jobs. Their career will be a set of stepping stones where they gain experience from each job in order to move onto their next one. Our students will receive information, advice and guidance that will help them make short term choices that will lead to long term successes in whatever field they choose to go into. Above all, we want our pupils to experience fullness of life, where the sort of person that they become is of paramount importance.

We seek to build a community where our students have:

• Unlimited ideas and dreams
• A vision of what they want to achieve in life and how to achieve it
• A strong sense of duty and service to others
• Care and compassion for each other, in line with our moral values

As part of our mission to prepare students for life beyond school, we have a very proactive approach to introducing our students to the world of work, training and further education.

We are extremely proud that our students leave us at the end of Year 11 well-prepared for their future, and go on to secure positive destinations and have successful careers.

Local employers, colleges and training providers, visit our school frequently to talk about careers and/or to lead sessions or deliver assemblies for all year groups. We are fortunate enough to have excellent links with a variety of organisations and we utilise these links to the full, in order to provide our students with the best possible practical and impartial advice.

Our Local Authority Careers Advisor attends parents’ evenings for Year 9 – 11, and is happy to speak to parents and students, to give impartial information and guidance. Often, local providers will attend the Y11 parents’ evening.

We offer an annual Careers Convention, which is an interactive market place event, with colleges, providers, employers and universities present, which all year groups attend. This includes an activity during registration.

Students are also encouraged to use the careers section in the Careers Office, as we have an extensive collection of prospectuses from our local colleges and all the universities.