Alumni Support ‘Fascinating’ Careers Fair

 Last Thursday over 800 Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 students had the opportunity to explore over forty different job roles as part of our highly successful annual Key Stage 3 Careers Fair. Those organisations represented included, among others: Army, AWE, Bluecore Plumbing & Heating, Cyber Crowd, Fusion Group, Green Alliance, iB Architects, Newbury College, Newbury Corn Exchange, Priors Court School, Siemens, The Royal Berkshire Hospital, Thames Valley Police, Xtrac and Vodafone.

Mrs Seward, Head of Business & Economics and Careers Lead at St Bart’s, explained, “The Careers Fair is a key event in our wider Careers Education Programme. It is a fantastic opportunity for students to explore the huge range of career choices open to them. It allows them to ask employers in person any questions they may have about roles, the world of work or routes into careers. I am so grateful to all our visitors for giving their time so generously and for their wonderful encouragement of our students. It was great to have such a range of organisations represented and also that so many former students were involved in supporting the morning”.

The school liaised with the wider school community, including alumni, staff, parents, governors and local organisations to arrange for representatives from different career fields to support the initiative. The volunteers generously gave their time to chat to students, who explored the different stands and completed a specially designed booklet to record their conversations. Following the discussions, students then spent time in tutor sessions reviewing all they had learned and their experiences.

William (7P2) said, “I’m really interested in engineering and I was fascinated to see how something big like an aeroplane is made up of so many small parts. It was great to find out more.”

Faith Pitchford, HR Employee Experience Administrator at Siemens and one of the many St Bart’s alumni involved, commented “This was such an enjoyable experience and I was delighted to be involved. It is great to be back at my former school, chatting to students about their own aspirations and hopefully passing on some helpful advice and inspiration. I really look forward to coming back and supporting future career and enrichment opportunities – particularly around pathways into STEM careers.”