Careers Events & Community Involvement
St Bart’s arranges a portfolio of careers events throughout the year as part of our Careers Education Programme. These include our Interview Skills Day for Year 11, KS3 Careers Fair and Enrichment Talks as part of our Sixth Form programme.
Inspiring the next generation of employees
We are extremely grateful to the organisations and companies that generously give us their time and expertise and therefore enable us to deliver these events. If you would be interested in supporting St Bart’s and our young people by attending an event on behalf of your profession. company or organisation, please contact Mrs Denise Seward, Careers Leader, at dseward@stbarts.co.uk.
In addition, if you are a former student who would be happy to be part of the programme, and give your time to share your further education and career experiences since leaving school, please keep in touch by joining St Bart’s Alumni.
One such former is Faith Pitchford (St Bart’s Alumni 2019) who shared her role in Employee Experience for Human Resources at Siemens at our KS3 Careers Fair:
“It was great to come back to St Bart’s. HR is not a;always in the minds of the students as a career path and so it is good to educate them on what I do. As part of BTEC in Business course at St Bart’s, I was given the opportunity to complete two weeks of work experience with the HR department at Stryker. I enjoyed it immensely and it enabled me to build a working network at the company. Following this work experience, Stryker suggested I consider applying to their apprenticeship programme. The apprenticeship lasted for 18 months and at Stryker I gained experience in human resources, events management, compliance and accounts alongside pursuing my CIPD Level 3 qualification. It gave me the confidence to move forward with a career in Human Resources at Siemens.”
Faith
“I’ll definitely do it again, each year I see the students mature and develop and I enjoy sharing my career journey”
Emma, Solicitor
“It’s great to get students thinking about future careers, plant seeds and educate them about what we actually do. We need to break the myths of what care is”
Priors Court
“For us, it is about spreading the news and inspiring students about the massive range of careers and further education in the army. We have 270 different types of apprenticeships!”
The British Army
“I love inspiring students into STEM and showing them what we have to offer at 16/18/21 years. It feels good and helps us future proof our pipeline of talent.”
AWE
“Newbury is the 2nd biggest area for racing in the UK and racing contributes millions of pounds to the local economy. We have many local vacancies but we are a global industry with many global opportunities so It is good to show the kids the options that are out there, many don’t ever think about working with horses.”
Watership Down Stud
KS3 Careers Fair
Our Key Stage 3 Careers Fair is held in November each year. Attended by over 800 students from Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, the KS3 Careers Fair is a fantastic opportunity for our students to explore different job roles across the companies and organisations represented.
In 2023, over 40 job roles were represented and the companies joined us included 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
Year 10 work shadowing
In order to provide students with the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the workplace, and begin to appreciate the variety of opportunities available, we allocate two days within the school calendar for all Year 10 students to spend a day visiting a workplace. Students are introduced to the wide and varied range of skills required for working life.
During their work shadowing day, students complete a booklet, which requires them to investigate job roles within the organisation, the qualifications and experience required for different roles and the skills required for and developed in the workplace.
Young Enterprise
The Young Enterprise Company Programme provides a real-life learning opportunity that introduces young people to the realities of the world of work. Students set up and run their own student company. They make all the decisions about their business, from deciding on their company name and product to managing the company finances. Students can promote and sell to the public through pop up shops and the new online store, Young Enterprise Trading Station. Participants gain the practical business experience, adaptability, entrepreneurial mindset and employability skills needed to secure successful futures.
Students have the opportunity to enter various competitions, such as Best Business Plan, Best Trade Stand, Dragon’s Den. At the end of the year the students will attend the Young Enterprise Area Final where they will set up their trade stand, present and judges will spend some time asking questions and discussing the enterprise with the students.
Interview Skills Day
Each year, around 20 business volunteers step forward to support potential employees of the future and join St Bartholomew’s School for our annual Interview Day. The event is supported by the Education and Business Partnership West Berkshire, who work in partnership with businesses to improve the employability skills of young people.
The event offers Year 11 students a ‘real-life’ opportunity to practise their interview technique and etiquette with representatives from the world of work. Prior to the day, students spend time in their PDP sessions, examining skills required for work, researching career choices, producing CVs and letters of application. On the day itself, each student benefits from an individual mock interview and feed back on their performance from interviewers. The experience is designed to help prepare students for future pathways, whether this be Sixth Form, alternative further education, an apprenticeship or employment.
