Careers

Careers education at Queen Elizabeth's School is about being ambitious and following a planned pathway, refined over a number of years. We tailor our careers education around the assumption that all our students will be aiming for university and therefore entering the competitive graduate market.

All boys follow a web-based careers programme in afternoon registration sessions with their personal tutor. The emphasis is on independent study and on aiming high; each student must consider what he is interested in, track it through his time in the School and make choices accordingly. Work-related learning and enterprise education are also important elements in our careers education.

Of course, the Careers Education Department does not work in isolation: other departments provide numerous opportunities to visit workplaces and universities, as well as offering competitions that may inspire a boy in his choice of career. In the Sixth Form there are frequent opportunities to visit universities and meet academics.

Our Careers Pathways programme begins in Year 7 with the careers analysis offered by the Real Game and the starting of boys' progress files. In Year 8, students develop a CV and continue with their progress files. Year 9 students evaluate their skills and analyse their weaknesses using www.fasttomato.com, planning GCSE options accordingly. Year 10 sees the introduction of Job Quest and also involves researching employment prospects using www.b-live.com. Year 11 boys plan for A Level transition and use the UCAS website to research appropriate courses. They can choose to take the Morrisby Test, which evaluates their skills and also covers dexterity, spatial awareness and mathematical awareness. Sixth Form students focus on university application.

Off-timetable days in Years 9, 10 and 12 seek to enthuse and inspire the boys in their choice of career. Our Year 9 day is based on BBC's 'The Apprentice'. In Year 10 our '2012 Vision' day is about defining exactly what a student wants to do and how he will get there. In Year 12 pupils interview recent QE leavers in their first year at university.

All students in Years 11-13 are offered a series of careers interviews. Some have an individual focus; others are in groups so that students with similar career interests can learn from each other.

Work experience takes place at the end of Year 11. Boys are expected to find a placement themselves with the help of their parents.

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