Careers@PlymstockSchool – Update – April 2020
Welcome to our April Careers Update. Whilst we are not together, we can still support you with your Careers Journey.
Year 11
During the Summer Term we usually work with Year 11 to finalise their Post 16 plans. It is very important to us that you are clear about your ‘destination’ for September. Whilst we are not together, we want you to know that we are still here to help you. We know that many of you are ‘sorted’ and have received College and Apprenticeship offers. For those of you that have applied to Plymstock School Sixth Form, Miss Monelle will be contacting you very soon.
If you have any questions or concerns about your options or you have changed your mind (you are allowed to do this!) please contact Tiff (tlinzell@plymstockschool.org.uk) If you are unable to contact Colleges or Apprenticeship providers, please let Tiff know and she will support you. If you have any questions about the Sixth Form at Plymstock, please contact Miss Monelle (emonelle@plymstockschool.org.uk) or Mrs Littler (rlittler@plymstockschool.org.uk)
City College Plymouth will be holding a Virtual Open Day on Saturday 25 April. See the link below for further information:
https://www.cityplym.ac.uk/event/virtual-open-day-saturday-25-april/
You can continue to access Apprenticeship information on the National Apprenticeship Website:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
The Careers Team will continue to support you until Christmas 2020, even if you are no longer a student at Plymstock School.
Year 10
Unfortunately, given the present circumstances, we have decided to cancel Work Experience for our Year 10 students this Summer. In these uncertain times, we felt that many employers and businesses will rightly have different priorities in the coming months. Whilst this is disappointing, it is the right thing to do for both our students and the wider employer community. We are however, working closely with our Enterprise Hub to develop Work Based Learning Activities to support your personal development through Year 11.
Careers Distance Learning
Whilst we know you all have plenty of Home Learning to do, there are many ways to continue with Careers Education at home:
One of our partners, the HOTSW Careers Hub have developed a resource called 10 Ways to achieve Careers Education at home which identifies a number of ways students, parents and carers can access Careers activities during this lockdown period:
Unifrog is an online Careers platform which allows students to research Careers, subject choices, Universities and Apprenticeships. All students in Years 8-13 have access to Unifrog and should have set up their accounts this year.
Contact Mrs Dover (ldover@plymstockschool.org.uk) if you are having difficulty accessing your account.
Career Pilot offers free Home Learning Resources for students.
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/
BBC Bitesize has a Careers section with real life Careers stories. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/careers
UCAS have updated their list of virtual university tours and videos. With more than 100 universities to choose from, students and parents can see what a specific campus looks like and what facilities are on offer.
https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/what-and-where-study/open-days-and-events/virtual-tours
Careers Across the Curriculum Collapsed Session – March 2020
It seems so long ago now, but last term we held our Careers Across the Curriculum Collapsed Session. In addition to Careers Lessons delivered by their Tutors, each year group took part in a range of Careers lessons and activities:
Year 7 – Students completed two sessions. ‘Careers in History’ focussed on how History is useful for Legal careers and working in the justice system. ‘Careers in Geography’ considered the skills and qualities needed for ‘environmental disaster management’. ‘Careers in English’ looked at journalism and ‘Careers in Modern Foreign Languages’ looked at the benefits of a second language in Business, Administration and Travel and Tourism.
Year 8 – The focus for Year 8 was ‘STEM’ Careers. Students had the opportunity to see how the study of Maths and Science can lead to a huge range of employment opportunities.
Year 9 – Students in Year 9 had the opportunity to update their Personal Profiles using Unifrog, our online Careers platform. Students can use Unifrog to record their ‘employment competencies’ and wider experiences using the ‘activities’ tool. This will help students to prepare their CVs as they move into Year 10 and Year 11. Thank you to the PE department who hugely altered their planned teamwork and leadership activities in the wake of social distancing guidance!
Year 10 – The emphasis was on preparing for the Workplace and students took part in an interactive activity where they had to analyse candidate performance in a Job Interview.
Year 11 spent their time planning their revision, whilst they won’t be using these skills this academic year, they will benefit from them in their future studies and professional development in the workplace.
Unfortunately, our Year 12 were unable to attend the Higher Education Careers Fair at Westpoint, Exeter as it was cancelled due to Covid-19.