All students at Thornden School will be provided with a comprehensive career programme that develops as they progress through the school.  There are a range of resources available to students online with a dedicated Careers website containing information on colleges, apprenticeships, general careers guidance and labour market information in the local area.  Students are sent a regular careers newsletter highlighting upcoming events and deadlines, as well as local opportunities within organisations and apprenticeship vacancies. There are a range of career talks provided that all year groups are invited to and have included specific college courses that are not studied at Thornden e.g., Psychology and Marine Biology, the legal profession, studying medicine and applying to Oxbridge.  These vary each year to ensure a wide scope of potential careers are covered.

Year 7

Students in Year 7 have 3 dedicated careers lessons to start them on their careers journey.  They consider their own skills, interests, and hobbies and how those can be converted into careers.  They also spend time browsing the multitude of careers resources available to them as they progress through the school. The students create an account on the careers software programme (Kudos) we have invested in, which they can update as they add to their qualifications, interests, and experience. As information is added, the program is able to provide more tailored guidance and advice.

Year 8

In Year 8 students continue to have 3 lessons dedicated to their careers education.  They update Kudos with any changes or additional information they can now provide, having completed a full year at secondary school.  Students will be guided through the option choice process in preparation for Year 9 when these decisions are formalised.  They have time to review courses and discuss the different choices and their links to future careers of interest, so they feel fully prepared for the decisions to be made.  The final lesson in Year 8 provides the students with the opportunity to consider ‘jobs of the future’.  What will they be? What skills will they require? How can students’ future-proof themselves? The world is changing very quickly, and our students need to take this into consideration when making their career choices.

Year 9

Students start the options process with an assembly explaining the procedure and they will then be provided with talks from each of the subjects they have not yet had the opportunity to study, so they can understand each of the choices available to them.  They will be provided with guidance from their tutors and there will be a parent/carer evening where information and guidance can be provided by the subject specialist teachers.

To support students with the options process and to enable them to make the right decisions for themselves, the tutor programme in the Spring term starts with a careers unit.  Students start to think about the range of careers, industries and roles available to them.  They will research local colleges and courses to see the entry requirements for the college and the individual courses.  They will also research apprenticeships and higher education, including degree classifications and other course options, to ensure the students have a full picture of career opportunities and pathways available to them.  Students are also encouraged to update their Kudos profile with any new interests, hobbies and qualifications, so the feedback provided continues to adapt and update to their changing situation.

Year 10

As part of the Personal Development rotation, Year 10 have a 6-week programme focussing on their personal career path.  They begin with researching local colleges and a range of courses available to them, including the most recently introduced T-Level qualifications.  They also investigate apprenticeships and how that route into a career compares to the traditional solely academic path.  Work experience is a key part of careers decisions so students spend time researching and contacting companies they would like to work for to see if that is a suitable option for them and their futures. They continue to update Kudos with their latest interests, qualifications and preferences and are provided with more increasingly personalised and detailed feedback.  In the summer term students are able to visit local colleges for taster days, enabling them to trial the subjects they are interested in, to confirm or amend their current career thoughts. The 2 main local colleges Thornden students attend will also provide assemblies explaining what is on offer at their establishments, the open evenings available and the application process overall. Students will also be offered a one-to-one careers interview with a qualified Careers Advisor.  Those who are not seen in Year 10 will be seen in Year 11.  Some students may have more than one interview if they have any issues they wish to clarify. In the last week of term, the whole year group take part in an Enterprise Day challenge.  In groups, students are given a range of activities to complete around a central theme, for example designing a new product for a local enterprise or creating a new music festival.  The students build skills such as teamwork, communication, leadership, organisation and co-ordination. 

Year 11

The year 11 students start their final year in school with a week of work experience. They get to experience a work environment and develop professional and transferable skills they can take with them into their next steps.  On their return to school, the first 4 weeks of assemblies will be from a range of local colleges reminding them what their establishments have to offer, inviting them to open events and explaining the application process and deadlines.   Their Personal Development sessions continue with a 4-week programme based around completing their personal statements and applications.  They consider their options beyond college and/or advanced level apprenticeships by investigating university courses and degree level apprenticeships.  They establish the requirements of these options and ensure they are taking the right next steps to help them reach these longer-term goals. As the students are approaching the age where they will have more part time job options available to them, we spend some time looking at young workers rights regarding pay and hours and we start to consider the elements of professionalism that are required in the workplace but also as they start to take more responsibility for their own education and career pathway. Those who did not have a one-to-one careers interview in Year 10 will be allocated one in Year 11. Students will sign up for Welcome Days at the local colleges they have applied to so they can once again get a feel for the college/s and establish which would be their preference, once they have their final GCSE results.

 

Life beyond Thornden

Please see the table below, which shows a summary of the last few years of careers destinations for students in Year 11.  Students in the other category may have relocated to other countries or decided under data protection rights not to submit their data.  As you will note the vast majority of our students move on to either Sixth Form Colleges or Further Education Colleges and there has been a similar pattern for a number of years.

This table represents the same information but in percentage form.

Again, the same information split into gender.

This table summarises the type of course followed after leaving Thornden for students at the end of 2020, according to the information provided by Hampshire Local Authority.

The table below represents the similar data for all students in Hampshire for comparison with Thornden.

(NB RPA means Raising Participation Age – students staying in education after the age of 16)

Where are they now? (or you!)

We are always very keen to hear how our former students are getting on, either in their education, sporting or musical successes, or in the future lives.  If you are happy to share and pass on this information, we would be delighted to receive it.  If you are happy and available to share your pathway and successes with our current students, this will also be greatly received.  Please contact the school with this information.