Careers at Wales High School
The careers programme is designed to meet the needs of all students at Wales High School. It is differentiated and personalised to ensure progression through activities that are appropriate to students’ stages of career learning, planning and development. Students are entitled to careers education and guidance that meets professional standards of practice and is person-centred, impartial and confidential.
It will be integrated into students’ experience of the whole curriculum and be based on a partnership with students and their parents or carers. The programme will promote equality of opportunity, inclusion, anti-racism and equality.
We are pleased that our careers provision has been recognised for its quality and we are proud to hold the Quality in Careers standard, awarded in 2023.
Wales High School Achieves Quality Standard for Careers Work
All students are welcome to come to the futures office during breaks, lunchtimes and morning tutor group for one-to-one guidance on course choices, CVs, interview techniques, work experience and much more.
Meet the team
Careers Lead – Mrs C Blackwell
Mrs Blackwell oversees our careers provision. She is working towards a level 6 Careers leadership certificate from RGG. She also works collaboratively with our local careers leaders group in Rotherham. Contact [email protected] or 01909771291.
Assistant Headteacher – Miss Feerick
Miss Feerick is the SLT link for the careers team. Contact [email protected]
Impartial Careers Adviser – Gaby Spinks
Gaby works for Progress Careers as an impartial adviser. Gaby has a level 7 Masters degree in careers guidance from the University of Huddersfield. Gaby is registered with the CDI. Contact: [email protected]
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Careers Information
Work experience takes place in Year 10 for all students.
Students have the option of finding their own placement with friends or family, or having a place selected for them by us.
We believe work experience is necessary for all students as the preparation for working life is invaluable.
Work experience will take place between Monday 12 May – Friday 23 May 2025. For any queries, please contact [email protected]
The document in the link below gives pupils, parents, teachers and employers a brief overview of the careers provision in place at Wales High school in every academic year. If you would like more information, then please get in touch with our Head of Careers and Guidance, Mrs C Blackwell on [email protected] or 01909771291.
November saw the return of our annual careers fayre – bigger and better than ever! The John Day sports hall was transformed in to a buzz of careers activity, with exhibitors from local businesses, colleges, universities, the armed forces and apprenticeship providers. The event was for all year groups, with a particular focus on Year 11 post 16 options and sixth form employment and post 18 opportunities, but we were pleased to see so many of our younger students attending as well. Our Careers partners, Progress Careers were also in attendance, offering on the spot careers information and directing our students to the best stalls for their interests.
The exhibitors were blown away with the enthusiasm from our students, one even commented “For me, the evening felt very worthwhile. Both the parents/carers and the students who visited my stand, appeared invested in the evening; it was great to see parents being so involved and supporting the students. I was asked lots of questions, both apprenticeship related and not; I hope I was able to provide useful information.”
Running alongside national careers week, professional interview evening is one of our biggest events of the year. Every student in Y12 will prepare and submit a CV, select a career specialism and have a professional interview from a career expert in that field.
The interviewers are asked to give students a rigorous interview and provide detailed feedback to allow students to work on their weaknesses before they are faced with a real interview.
We are proud to work with so many industry experts form our local community, including medics, architects, engineers, lawyers and academics.
Careers forms a significant part of our PHSE provision. Every year, we carefully select resources to reflect local labour market information and this is delivered to students in timetabled PHSE lessons, super learning days, active tutorials and assemblies.
Further details can be found on the careers framework. For PHSE enquiries, please contact Mrs Jackson [email protected] or Mrs Blackwell [email protected]
To help our students make links with the world of work, we invite businesses to come in to school and chat to students during the lunch break. This informal drop in style allows students to ask their questions and get a real feel for a particular industry.
In the past we have been delighted to partner with NHS digital, Burrows car sales and many others!
For more information about upcoming careers cafes, please keep an eye on our twitter feed.
We offer a drop in surgery every week in the Learning support department. This takes place every week on Tuesdays from 1.30pm to 3pm. Students can self-refer and visit at lunchtime, or appointments can be made through Mrs Leivars.
We are proud to work in partnership with one of the biggest local employers, Greencore.
Greencore were determined to help us with recovering lost careers skills after the pandemic and they were as disappointed as we were that two year groups had lost out on valuable work experience. Working together, we came up with a plan to allow the current year 11 to gain those lost skills by completing a virtual work experience challenge.
Students were asked to research what happens in a Greencore manufacturing facility and all the roles of all the different departments on site. Greencore provided us with videos and assemblies to help us gain that understanding. Using that knowledge, students were asked to design their own quiche, and explain how they would budget for it, market it, manufacture it, and of course, make it taste great!
All entries were judged by a panel of experts from Greencore, and the winning teams were given a guided tour of the factory, with the chance to have a go at making their own quiche with the development chefs.
A real celebration of careers at Wales!
NCW features in active tutorials and assemblies all week, with students embarking on careers treasure hunts and other activities, having a dedicated careers focus in every lesson and careers events and drop ins all week.
The Higher Education Progression Partnership deliver quality sessions on pathways to university for our students on super learning days. Exploring topics such as student finance, the benefits of higher education and making good choices. Sessions are delivered in a high energy assembly with current HE students and HEPP staff.
Students are invited to streamline their curriculum as they move in to Y9 to allow them to focus on their areas of interests. Assemblies and active tutorials guide students through the process of looking ahead at potential careers and choosing the subjects they feel will be most useful.
Y9 options
To allow our students to make informed choices as they pick their GCSE options, we have a rigorous programme of careers events in Y9 to ensure students are aware of all of their choices and the impact those choices can have. Please watch the video below from Mrs Brown for more information.
For further information on the options process, please click here.
For further independent careers advice, please use the QDOS app, icould.com or careersbox.co.uk, or see the links on the main careers page.
