Beths
Grammar
School

Careers through the Years at Beths ​​​​​​​

 

We want Beths students to . .

be empowered

achieve within the world of work

have successful, rewarding and fulfilling careers

be motivated and happy to engage with the challenges of life.

Careers in Key Stage 3

 

Year 9 Option choices, April/May: What’s the relationship between options and careers? Equipping our students to understand what is right for them as an individual and the flexibility of their choices. In a changing work market, we will share insights on what employers are looking for, how jobs will change in the future, and how they can be prepared going forward.

Careers Spotlight Form time activities throughout the academic year for years 8 and 9, encouraging engagement with Unifrog.

Careers in Key Stage 4

Student Voice - Careers Survey and Careers Prefects

As the students begin years 10 and 11 we encourage them to share their views about careers and aspirations for the future in our Careers Surveys. The results of these surveys, combined with strategic discussions with the Head of Year and Key Stage 4 Co-ordinator, allow us to reflect the interests of the students and their aspirations for the future, whilst broadening their horizons with alternative opportunities. The Careers Junior Prefects are a group of year 11 students who work with the Careers Team.

Careers Guidance

We have two trained Careers Advisers from Prospects who run 1-1 guidance interviews with our year 10 and year 11 students.

Careers in Key Stage 5

 

Information and Guidance

The Careers team shares key information and resources with the Sixth Form, to students to help them make informed choices. We do this in a variety of ways but one of the main ones is via the Careers channel on Teams. This is updated all the time with information that we receive from universities and career companies and covers a wide range of topics including open days, apprenticeship opportunities, employability tips and events. When required, the Prospects Careers Adviser advises Sixth Form students on potential pathways and concerns.

Student Voice – Careers Survey

We have a large number of external students who start Beths in Year 12, and our Careers Survey gives us the opportunity to discover their career and post-18 aspirations. The most popular careers identified were medicine, law, economics, banking and finance. Engineering, particularly software engineering was frequently mentioned, as was computer science. 

Trips, talks and events

UCAS Discovery Event, 19 March 

All year 12 students attended the UCAS Discovery Event at ExCel London. This was an incredible opportunity for our students to talk to over 170 universities, as well as some apprenticeship providers and employers. 

 

 

This event was useful for gaining more insight into pathways that open up after sixth form and really helped me to expand my options for what I really want to do post-18. I was able to speak to universities and find out more about entry requirements, university life, accommodation, and how courses are divided e.g. work-life balances and specifications. (Henry, 12C1)  

 

 

 

This experience reminded me of the hard work it takes to make it into these top universities and degree apprenticeship programs. I also learnt valuable tips on how to complete a successful personal statement. (Gift, 12E2) 

 

 There were a lot more universities that I was interested in than I thought. I also now have a better understanding of what grades I need to do what I want. (Asia, 12C2).

Bromley Public Health, 13 March 2024

 

Former Beths Head Girl Maddie Smith is currently studying for a degree apprenticeship within Bromley Public Health, and is working with Bexley Council on a health website for young people. Over two sessions, some Year 12 students gave their invaluable feedback to the web designers focusing on design and content development, as well as public health/healthcare messaging and information for the users.  It was a great opportunity for our students to be part of the co-design team for an NHS project whilst building valuable team building skills. 

Year 13 students and University of Leicester, 6 March 2024 

Dr Alisha Mohindre from the University of Leicester gave an informative talk about Preparing for University to all our Year 13 students who have applied to UCAS. Dr Mohindre  is the UK Student Recruitment Officer at the university, and has a PhD in Chemistry from Leicester, so she has first-hand experience of university life. Topics included managing money: looking for scholarship opportunities and some budgeting tips, with details about part-time employment, as well as choosing the accommodation that suits you and travel options. She also addressed the importance of support and wellbeing when starting university, and the many social opportunities that university provides.  

Year 11 and post-16 pathways, March 2024 

It’s important that students are aware of the variety of options available to them at different points of their school journey. Although many of our students stay on at Beths to study A levels, and then look to apply to university, this is not the only pathway available and the A level – university route is not suitable for all students, depending on their interests and aspirations. In March representatives from London South East and North Kent Colleges spoke with students from Year 11 about post-16 options, including T levels, Apprenticeships and BTECs.   

 

National Apprenticeship Week, 5-9 February 2024 

Apprenticeships are an increasingly popular pathway for our students. Apprenticeships are 80% work and 20% study and are a partnership between an employer and a training provider like a university. A degree apprenticeship gives students the opportunity to gain a paid-for degree while getting industry experience and earning a salary. They are available in lots of industries, from hands-on fields like engineering to more office-based roles like business administration, finance, and law. Find out more about apprenticeships Beths Grammar School - Apprenticeships 

During National Apprenticeship Week (5-9 February) all year groups explored apprenticeships in PSHCE, form times and assemblies.  On Wednesday 7 February we held our first Apprenticeship Fair. Almost 200 Sixth Form students and parents were able to speak with employers offering apprenticeships in a variety of sectors. Former students representing Morgan Stanley, Glaxo Smith Kline, Bromley Healthcare, Keltbray, EY, IBM and Deloitte were able to share their knowledge of the pathway they took from Beths to their apprenticeships with the next generation of Beths Scholars. The Sixth Form students discussed work experience opportunities with local and national firms, including Baily Garner, Balfour Beatty, JGF Electrical, CIS Security, Frankham Consulting and BP. 

  

 

Harry Henderson, Architect, 26 January 2024 

Former student, Harry Henderson, made a return to School to share his experiences of training to be an Architect. Harry, now a Part II Architectural Assistant at Studio Egret West, spoke to Year 12 Art and DT students and gave them an insight into the world of Architecture. 

          

 Green Careers Week (6th-10th November 2023)

 

The Engineering and Design Institute        

In October 2023 The Engineering and Design Institute London invited some of our 6th form students to a tour of their facilities and campus in Canada Water, followed by an engineering activity.