Our Careers Programme is tailored to our students’ individual needs and is designed to raise aspirations, support and inform. Students are encouraged to be positive and ambitious regarding their future plans and explore a number of pathways, including higher education, an apprenticeship or the world of work. 

Calday Grange Grammar School’s Sixth Form is committed to ensuring our careers provision is of a high quality, well timed and impartial in terms of providing students with the academic and personal skills to progress to higher education or employment. 

We encourage and support students to start exploring through research, networking, gaining work experience and taking opportunities to enhance the skills and knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their next step. Students have access to a variety of workshops, online tools and one-to-one personal guidance to help with exploring options. 

We aim to prepare students for the next stage of their journey, so they can leave us as versatile, competent and professional young adults. 

Careers Advice

In conjunction with an external partner, MPloy Solutions, all students are offered a one-to-one careers appointment with a professional career’s advisor. Providing structured personal guidance, the interviews allow students to focus on their future aspirations and set goals to achieve them. The careers advisor offers students unbiased, impartial advice on anything they wish to discuss about their future career progression. 

To request a Careers Appointment, please complete the Google Form

Events

Throughout Year 12 and 13, the school holds a number of career and progression events providing students with a variety of opportunities to help them to make informed decisions about their path forward beyond Calday Grange Grammar School. These include:

We hold a Careers Fair on a yearly basis inviting a wide-range of employers and higher education representatives from the local area and beyond. Students visit the fair during and after school. Additionally, students have the opportunity to ask questions and network, closely considering their future pathway. 

Every year, to coincide with National Apprenticeship Week, we host a week-long celebration of apprenticeships through a series of talks, presentations and activities to help students understand the opportunities that apprenticeships can offer. The event encourages students to consider how apprenticeships can make a positive impact on individuals and employers, by developing the skills and knowledge required to build a workforce with future-ready skills.

Our support with university applications begins in Year 12. All students attend our UCAS Day, local universities run talks and presentations on the UCAS application process, choosing university courses, student finance and life as an undergraduate.

Throughout the academic year we host a range of career and subject specific employer talks. All Year 12 students attend the UK University and Apprenticeship Search Fair in Liverpool during the Autumn term. Additionally, every year we welcome past pupils to speak to students about different post-18 options, run workshops, support university applications and conduct mock interviews. We believe it is hugely beneficial for students to hear from their peers and pride ourselves on the strong links we maintain with our alumni. 

Work Experience

During the summer term, all year 12 students are required to attend a week-long work experience placement. All students are asked to find their own placement; this ensures they have a worthwhile and meaningful experience. Students complete the application process for their placement via the Unifrog application. 

Students are encouraged to pursue their placement in the field they wish to further their future career in, however, this is not essential. 

Work experience provides students with a taster of the world of work; through interviews, applications, time keeping, health and safety, plus much more.

The purpose of work experience for the student is to:

  • Develop their careers ideas
  • Build confidence and self-esteem
  • Enhance their knowledge and skills
  • Complement their academic subjects in school

The process of organising the placement starts at the beginning of Year 12. The early time frame gives students enough time to contact potential employers.

Unifrog

Unifrog is an award winning, online careers platform that every student has an account, which can be monitored by teachers and parents/guardians. Unifrog brings into one place every undergraduate course in the UK, job and market information and CV help. 

Additionally, the platform helps students successfully apply for university by using Unifrog to write their personal statement, applications and CVs and guiding them through the process, allowing teachers to give live feedback. 

Students log in to the platform using their school email address and password. They can do so from any computer, tablet or smart phone in school or at home. 

Careers Research on Unifrog

Unifrog offers three different libraries of information on specific careers, academic subjects and information on career paths.

Careers Library: Over 800 hundred job profiles are featured on the Careers Library and students can search using themes, careers areas, or subjects. Each guide contains career summaries and information on earning potential, future prospects, day-to-day responsibilities and access routes to get there.

Subjects Library: Students can use the smart searching options on the library homepage, or search using their favourite subjects, to access and explore the 100s of subject profiles.

The Know-How Library: The Know-How Library offers 100s of guides and videos relating to different pathways such as UK universities, UK Apprenticeships, Oxbridge, the world of work and universities overseas.

The Gatsby Benchmarks

We use the eight Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance to measure and assess the impact of our careers programme on our students and their progression success. 

1

A stable careers programme

2

Learning from career and labour market information

3

Addressing the needs of each pupil

4

Linking curriculum learning to careers

5

Encounters with employers and employees

6

Experiences of workplaces

7

Encounters with further and higher education

8

Personal guidance

View our latest reports showing how we measure up to the eight Gatsby Benchmarks 

Useful resources and websites

  • UCAS – UCAS supports young people making post-16 choices, as well as those applying for undergraduate and postgraduate courses. It also allows students to take various careers quizzes to allow them to fine-tune their options. www.ucas.com 

  • Unifrog – Unifrog is a ‘one-stop-shop’ of careers, with job and market information, CV help, and university course details. www.unifrog.org
     
  • MOOCs – Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs) are free online courses available for anyone to enrol. https://www.mooc.org/

  • Liverpool City Region Be More – LCR Be More is a one-stop online solution to kick start a career. https://lcrbemore.co.uk/ 

  • Open Days – Open Days is the university and college open day directory. https://www.opendays.com/ 

  • The Complete University Guide – The Complete University Guide features independent UK university rankings; course information and expert advise for every student. 
    https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/
     



Labour Market Information

Receiving good Labour Market Information (LMI) can help students to make informed decisions about their future.

LMI can help students identify the skills they might require in the future. Even within familiar occupations, job titles and tasks constantly evolve and develop as products and technology change. Students need to be aware of how easy or hard it will be to get into their chosen career. Students also need to be aware of pay levels, job security and local prospects which they need to consider if they are to make realistic and informed career decisions. LMI can help students to widen their aspirations to include similar occupational areas in the event that their first choice is not possible or available in their area. 

Students can access current Labour Market Information via their Unifrog account. https://www.lmiforall.org.uk/explore_lmi/

Meet the Team

Mr R Hayes

Head of Sixth Form

Mr S Connell

Personal Development Coordinator

Mrs H Jones

Careers Administrator

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