Careers information
Careers, Work Experience and Work-Related Learning
The aim of this page is to provide an overview of how you, as parents, can support your child with their career development, especially at key decision making points such as Year 9 and Year 11.
You can also browse the extremely comprehensive careers information already provided for students.
Contact Details
Mr A Abdar (Careers Leader)
aab@herschel.slough.sch.uk
Mrs T Gumbs (Sixth Form Careers)
tgu@herschel.slough.sch.uk
Jina Basra (Careers Advisor)
careersleader@herschel.slough.sch.uk
Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) at Hershel Grammar School is seen as an important part of school life and all students will receive this as part of their learning here at the school. We are committed to providing the appropriate activities and experiences to enable students to make successful transitions from Foundation Stage to Key Stage 4 and 5 and further education, training programmes, apprenticeships or work.
Our school's careers programme embeds equality and diversity considerations throughout.
We have been awarded Stage 1 of the Investor in Careers award.
Herschel Grammar School aims in relation to CEIAG are:
- To allow students to make informed and considered choices at the end of all three key stages.
- To help and guide students to make transitions into new situations.
- To promote self-development in students including employability skills.
- To help students to value differences and diversity between people.
- To raise aspirations and make students aware of opportunities available to them.
- To provide guidance to all students in relation to decisions about options, further education and career choices, including apprenticeships.
Careers education at Herschel Grammar School should not just be seen as learning about jobs but also learning about work ethics, equipping students with skills (both hard and soft) for the workplace, ensuring transition occurs smoothly and helping to reduce barriers to entering the world of work.
For more information on CEIAG and how it is delivered and assessed, the Herschel Grammar School careers road map and Gatsby Benchmarks documents can be downloaded from the downloads section below.
In this section you will find lots of useful links and information about careers, services, further education and training programmes including: information on careers fairs, volunteering, work experience. We have our dedicated careers adviser, Jina Basra, who works closely with our students, so they have access to impartial guidance about their career options.
All students at Herschel Grammar School will have a careers interview in Year 11 and the option to do so in Years 12 and 13. If you would like to have a careers appointment please speak to your tutor or Mr Abdar.
Individual guidance is supported by a wide selection of reference material and software in the school’s careers library. In Years 12 and 13, guidance, especially on applications for Higher Education, comes from the student’s personal tutor and the resources of the sixth form careers library. In addition, to help Year 11 and sixth form students with their career choices, workshops and seminars are held throughout the autumn and spring terms; where employees from various careers give talks to the students. Within the PSHCE/personal development sessions delivered to Years 7-11 there are a series of sessions based around careers and work related learning. In Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 students in particular explore apprenticeships that are available to them.
The Provider Access Policy for Herschel Grammar School can be downloaded from the downloads section below.
Careers on X/Twitter
Follow Herschel Careers on X/Twitter @Careers_HGS
Careers Software
We have a range of careers software available for use by your child, available via the 'Careers Software' page on the student careers menu. But what does this software actually do?
Unifrog - asks a series of probing questions about interests and likes/dislikes, before suggesting some potential career areas of interest. These areas of interest are then followed up with detailed information about what is entailed with these career areas and how they can be accessed.
https://www.unifrog.org/sign-in
The Which University A Level Explorer allows potential A Level choices to be submitted and comes back with lists of degree courses that would be accessible with those choices - a great way of 'road testing' a set of choices to ensure that no mistakes are made.
https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer
iCould provides some career inspiration by looking at what some 'real people' do and why they do it!
https://icould.com/explore
Key Decision Points
Year 9
At Herschel, students select their GCSE options in Year 9. The latest options booklet can be downloaded as a PDF from the downloads area at the bottom of this page.
Year 11
During Year 11, students make choices about what they will do post-16. These choices include A Levels (at Herschel or elsewhere), apprenticeships, or other college courses such as T Levels, BTECs and NVQs. Students must stay in some kind of education or training until their 18th birthday.
More detailed information about these key routes can be found in the website links below or on the student careers pages of our website, where all the latest opportunities we receive are posted.
You can download a parents' guide to apprenticeships from the downloads list at the foot of this page, along with the latest list of local college open events (always check on these directly before making a journey, however).
The Russell Group of universities have recently updated their advice on A Level choices - you can try their new A Level choices tool by clicking on the link below:
https://www.informedchoices.ac.uk/
Year 12 and 13
In late Year 12 and during Year 13, students consider what they will go on to do after Herschel. Most of our students go through the UCAS process and apply for university, but others also look at apprenticeships and school leaver programmes, more details of which can be found on the appropriate student careers pages and in the downloads list at the foot of this page.
If your child is applying for university, you will probably want to know more about the latest student finance arrangements. Click on the Which University link below for a handy guide.
https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/advice/student-finance/how-student-finance-actually-works
You can also download the 'Parent's Guide to University' from the downloads section at the bottom of this page - a PDF guide that covers student finance but also a range of other aspects of helping your child through their university application and decision making including choosing a course, making personal statements stand out from the crowd and options for university accommodation.
UCAS has a section to support you as parents as your child moves into higher education - you can access it via the link below:
https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/advice-parents-guardians-and-carers
A 'Must Read' for Parents
This article is reproduced from the 'Not Going to Uni' website, and is a very interesting and thought provoking read for anyone in the position of supporting a son or daughter through making careers decisions.
While you may have helped your child decide which GCSEs to study, as they get older the decisions about their education and career be tough. This is especially true if you and your teenager don’t agree on what direction they should take. Perhaps you have your own set of dreams for your teen to follow, but they don’t seem to agree and want to do something else entirely? Of course, you just want the best for your child and are trying to guide them in what you believe is the best direction. But, your way may not be the best way for them any longer and there are plenty of different routes to the same career these days.
With university fees being a concern for many families, it is of little surprise that many young people are now looking at apprenticeships as a real option. Choosing between university and an apprenticeship is something that you want to help your child do, so it is worth researching both options properly before making any decisions. Aside from money issues, there are other factors to consider, such as the chances of getting a job at the end of it all and the type of training available (on-the-job vs. academic). If your teen has a good idea of what they would like to do as a career you may want to search for any available apprenticeships in your area (https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch). By doing some research you will be able to present an informed opinion to your teen and really help them by showing what you have found. Using this sort of information and showing the pros and cons of each option will also make it seem less like you are ‘nagging’ or pressuring them into one or another.
Some teens have no idea what they want to do, so it may even be best to let them explore the world of work to see what is out there. There are plenty of jobs available for school leavers - Click here for more information on the Total Jobs website. They can always go back to do some more study later.
Success at School is the place for young people to explore careers, get the lowdown on top employers, and search for the latest jobs, courses and advice.
https://successatschool.org/
Deciding upon options, whether they are for A levels or even after can be a stressful time for both teenagers and their parents, but the more you can work through things together the better it is. Try to pay attention to what your teenager wants, listen to their ideas, and maybe you can use your own experience to help them make the right choice.
However, don’t let yourself be too swayed by what you did when you were their age. Times are constantly changing and you have to remember your son or daughter have to find a way that suits them. That said, if you do your research (you can even ask our dedicated ‘Advice Centre’ if you have questions), then you will at least know that you are making an informed choice – rather than one based on emotion or hearsay.
Helping your teen make the right choice for the future may seem like a huge moment for you both, but no decision needs to close the door on another – whether academic or vocational.
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships have changed. It’s certainly worth finding out more when new opportunities are being added daily, in sectors ranging from nuclear to fashion, and from banking to defence. Some employers even fund degrees for their apprentices.
Two of the best websites for parents wanting to find out more about apprenticeships are:
You can download a parents' guide to apprenticeships from the downloads list at the foot of this page.
Online Careers Guidance for Parents
The National Careers Service is the main government website for young people (and older ones too!) in the UK to access up to date careers information and guidance:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
Call 0800 100 900 to speak to an adviser.
Open:
8am to 8pm Monday to Friday
10am to 5pm Saturday and bank holidays
Labour Market Information (LMI)
Labour Market Information is region specific and it tells you about the current work and job environments.
- LMI highlights the fantastic career opportunities available across the county.
- It helps decode the world of work by breaking it down into digestible chunks.
- LMI is important for social mobility, young people should be more equipped to understand what is on offer in their region and how to get there by making informed decisions about their future career choices.
Understanding LMI is crucial when providing careers guidance and advice - which job areas are seeing an increase or decrease in employee demand, both nationally and locally?
The latest national LMI can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.
There is also some LMI specifically for Berkshire this can also be down that was released in November 2021 - you can also download this as a PDF report from the downloads section below.
Morrisby Testing
From time to time we run Morrisby testing in school, usually on Coaching Day in December.
Morrisby combines objective assessments of ability with detailed questionnaire responses measuring such things as career interests, work attitudes, talents and motivations. These results are used to generate a unique profile for each candidate including suggestions for career and educational pathways. These results can:
- increase self-awareness
- recognise an individual's personal strengths and weaknesses
- uncover hidden talents
- suggest realistic and achievable goals increasing motivation and application
Click on the link below to find out more:
https://www.morrisby.com/parents/
If you wish to discuss the careers programme further, please contact the school lead for Careers, Mr Abdar.
Email: aab@herschel.slough.sch.uk Phone: 01753967508
