Careers

SCWA is in a unique position to benefit from an extensive range of opportunities offered by our Trustees, The Worshipful Company of Stationers’ and Newspaper makers.  One such opportunity is the Stationers’ Mentoring Programme.   The scheme involves business leaders who volunteer their time to offer support and guidance on a wide range of education and career focused areas.  The programme is targeted at Year 12 students and launches with a speed networking meeting to enable students to be matched with mentors which would be most beneficial to them.   Students keep in regular contact with the mentors over the course of their time at Arden Sixth Form.

“The Stationers’ Mentoring Programme has helped me massively with narrowing down career choices, CV writing, interview techniques and many more assets which paints the picture of the future ahead of me.  Each Stationer specialises in a wide range of careers, which allows you to match the mentor you bond with the most during the quick interview process. The interview has a ‘speed dating’ type style and allows you to highlight the mentor that you have an immediate connection with. Having that strong bond with your mentor, will allow you to progress to your maximum ability. There is a lot of discussion of what YOU as a student would like to do for a career, and there should be no pressure in making decisions, the Stationers’ are all warming people to talk to, and have amazing experiences which could make you stand out from the rest. My mentor and I have a great bond talking about current affairs, both of our interests and things we like to do for fun which makes the overall experience extremely worthwhile. It’s an outstanding opportunity and could possibly make a huge impact on your future, and you will certainly learn something new”

Alfie – Year 12

In 2019-2020 we ran our first Skills Event jointly hosted by the Stationers’ Livery Company, Leigh Academies Trust and Stationers’ Crown Woods Academy, Sixth Form and Year 10 students benefited from two targeted skills events.  Year 12 and 13 students attended a ‘Brushing Up Your Skills’ event which involved a carousel of three interactive labs – Linkedin, interview skills and CV preparation.  Each lab was hosted by an industry expert.  Students were able to build up a useful portfolio of information for the future.  Year 10 students participated in a ‘30:30 Skills’ event which involved training on how to effectively present yourself to potential employers followed by a practical task, where they applied what they had learnt when meeting a variety of different business leaders.   Feedback from this event was so positive that we are looking to repeat the event this academic year, extending the event so that more year groups can benefit.

18 providers, offering a wide range of apprenticeship and traineeship programmes, attended our in-house Apprenticeship Fair.  Students from Year 10, 11 , 12 and 13 were invited to attend the fair and speak to the different providers. This enabled our students to gain a better understanding of the opportunities available and how to apply.   This Apprenticeship Fair is a well established annual event at SCWA which receives excellent feedback from the students who attend.  

The Progression Fair is a recurring annual event on the school calendar. All year 11 students attend the event which is held at Ravensbourne University in Greenwich. The aim of this trip is to ensure that students are well-informed of the different post 16 pathways available to them via presentations and access to a wide range of sixth form providers and colleges.  Prior to the event students are briefed on what to expect and given guidance on what questions they might ask when talking to different sixth form providers and colleges.  Representatives from every Post 16 sixth form and college in the borough of Greenwich attend, allowing students to talk to a wide range of providers to get bespoke advice and guidance on potential pathways.

SCWA were pleased to take part in this year’s Apprentice Future’s virtual event.  Students signed up to take part in a wide variety of sessions covering a range of industry sectors including:  Natwest: developing an entrepreneurial mindset, pathways to law, careers and skills in creative industries, a career in engineering, Evening Standard: a career in media, starting a small business and BT apprenticeships.  The session offered a wealth of information regarding each sector including insights into the apprenticeship pathways available within the industry and offered advice and guidance on how to ensure success in a very competitive market.   

The Academy has developed an excellent Alumni programme where former students offer current students a wide variety of support in areas such as: portfolio development for creative art course applications, key speaker advice on entrepreneurship and guidance on the application process for Medicine and Biomedical degree programmes. 

The academy continually strives to improve it’s careers programme so that our students are well placed to compete in a global market beyond life at SCWA. To this end, we will be working on a new venture with globalbridge, a pioneering EdTech platform that specialises in connecting young people and education with employers, apprenticeships and universities.  This will be launched across all year groups and will allow students to record and showcase themselves by creating a student profile that includes a student biography, current education/work status, experiences and education (similar to the National Record of Achievement).  It will also provide students with connections to applicable career related opportunities, information and providers.  A selection of students will also be invited to attend events, such as the FutureStar event hosted by globalbridge.

We have also recently subscribed to Unifrog. Unifrog is the complete destinations platform – a one-stop-shop for students across KS3, KS4 and KS5 regardless of their interests or academic ability.   It is the only place where students can compare every university, apprenticeship and FE courses in the UK, as well as universities in 30 other countries across the world. Unifrog allows students to access up-to-date labour market information alongside advice and guidance on both subject choices and careers for all routes.  

More information to follow!