NEXT STEPS SHOW LAUNCH

The Next Steps Show launches at Sedbergh School on 23rd May, giving unprecedented access to high-profile employers and HE institutions for pupils and Old Sedberghians aged 14 – 25. 

Exhibitors include Ernst & Young, New College of the Humanities, York University, Newcastle University, University of British Columbia, the BBC, Camargue Chambers LLP and Impact International. 

Skills workshops and seminars will include ‘IT… it’s not just for geeks’, ‘Getting into Law’, ‘So what’s so special about you?’, ‘Life in front of and behind the camera – getting into the media sector’, ‘Preparing for Interview’ and ‘A Doctor’s Lot’.

Headmaster Andrew Fleck said, “There is a national drive to improve the standard of careers advice in schools. It is something we have been delivering successfully through timetabled lessons and guest speaker events, and through one-to-one contact with teachers who have industry experience, but with the increase in competition for university places and jobs, we identified a need to create more networking opportunities and to ensure pupils and old sedberghians think about and plan their next step from a position of knowledge.”

In March 2014, Ofsted’s chief schools inspector Sir Michael Willshaw highlighted the need for a national drive to improve the standard of careers advice in schools. A survey carried out by the Government showed that three out of every four state schools visited had not been delivering an adequate service and the CBI director John Cridland said last year that careers advice in schools was on “life support”. 

The charity Edge, set up to campaign for academic and vocational education, revealed that nearly one in four students had been put off following a vocational report because they were told by teachers they were ‘too clever.’

Sedbergh School launched its second vocational course for sixth formers this year, a BTEC Diploma in Agriculture – a new route into Veterinary Medicine and Engineering. The school’s Business Groups provide networking opportunities for OS and Parents already in a career, and for recent leavers looking for advice and support to get theirs off the ground. 

The Next Steps Show will take place during the day and will be followed in the evening by a networking social gathering for sixth formers, recent graduates, exhibitors and parents.

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