Whether you already know what career you want, or not, now is the time to start planning.
Careers Leader
Mrs M Grantham [Assistant Headteacher] - 0118 901 5800
Overview
Year 7 and 8
Students find out about themselves and develop skills such as team building during Big Learning Days and Mentor time.
Year 9
Big Learning Day on careers and options to help students make informed choices when deciding on their GCSEs.
Year 10
Big Learning Day on careers and employability skills to help students make informed choices when deciding on their future pathway. Year 10s attend a small group session with a careers adviser.
Year 11
One to one interviews with impartial careers adviser.
Sixth Form
The Sixth Form pastoral team guide students in planning for life beyond Highdown. Students have access to a range of resources on the school website including information about UCAS, universities and apprenticeships.
Students can self-refer or be referred by their tutor to meet with the careers adviser.
If you would like more information about our careers programme, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs M Grantham [Careers Leader]. The impact of our Careers Programme is measured and assessed through progression and destinations information and through student voice.
Our Provider Access Policy Statement can be found here.
Our Careers Programme is reviewed annually in the Summer Term.
Please find below Careerometer, which is a freely available widget provided by the LMI for all services. It is an easy way to get access to labour market information:
Morrisby Profile (Psychometric Assessment) is the foremost careers diagnostic tool available to anyone who wishes to identify the career opportunities most appropriate for them. It uses a series of paper-based tests and a questionnaire, which together assess aptitude and work/ study orientated personality and lasts 3 hours.
Highdown students, Year 10 and above, have the opportunity to take this test in school during one of the bi-annual sessions, which are usually run in January and June. The cost of the Morrisby package, which includes detailed one-to-one feedback of the personal report, is approximately £100. There is a bursary available to fund Morrisby places for those whose family income is below £26,000. Future dates for Morrisby Testing at Highdown will appear here in due course.
Evaluating the impact of our Careers Programme
Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre provides a wide and well respected menu of career opportunities for our students. A key component of this work is a consistent drive to self reflect and ensure our offer remains relevant, useful and effective in supporting our students achieve their career ambitions. We do this through a range of evaluative methods and tools. Student voice and reflection work is completed regularly across the academic year, utilising platforms such as Compass+ and Career Pilot. Additionally, Career Pilot's pathway planner allows for the Career Lead to assess engagement and activity, allowing for swift intervention and support. Highdown is dedicated to providing the best providers for our students. As such, professional feedback from agencies such as Adviza and Careers and Thames Valley Berkshire provide vital guidance on our offer and support innovation and evolution of our career menu. Alongside this work, the Career Lead and Careers team regularly review our work in meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks. With support from Highdown's Career Govenor, we assess and evolve the career's menu to ensure all benchmarks are meeting the needs of our students.