Careers Convention 2026 “our most inspiring yet”

A record 65 guests signed up to support Year 11 boys at this year’s Careers Convention – more than 30 of them alumni.

New workshops were added to cover degree apprenticeship assessment centres and being ‘future-ready’ in a rapidly changing labour market – one of the six key priorities in QE’s new School plan, Boundless.

Assistant Head (Destinations and Progress) James Kane said: “Our Careers Convention grows stronger each year, and 2026 was our most inspiring yet. The generosity of our speakers – particularly our Old Elizabethan community – creates an environment where students can explore their ambitions with confidence and curiosity.

“The event encourages boys to explore both traditional and alternate pathways, providing them with first-hand insights about careers and career development from alumni, parents, other friends of the School and higher education advisors.”

The day opened with an inspirational keynote from Kam Taj (OE 2004–2011), who encouraged pupils to stay open-minded, embrace uncertainty, and understand that career paths are rarely linear.

There was a range of expert panel sessions on topics covering seven key career areas: accountancy, banking & finance; creative industries & the built environment; engineering; law; entrepreneurship; STEM opportunities; and medicine & dentistry.

Pupil Sriram Muthukumaran, who attended the engineering session, said: “I personally enjoyed the panel and their insights, which really helped guide my journey and allowed me to network with people in the field I want to explore.”

The afternoon featured workshops running in parallel with a Careers Fair in the Shearly Hall, where boys could have one-to-one conversations with the visiting experts, taking the opportunity to ask personalised questions and receive tailored insights.

This was especially popular with the 114 boys who gave feedback, such as Isa Sheikh, who said: “Being able to speak to people in different industries personally in the Careers Fair was the best part for me.” Vash Mamtani agreed: “Having conversations with some of the alumni and getting personalised advice was incredibly useful.”

Overall, a large majority of respondents gave the Careers Convention a four or five out of five rating.

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