Careers

Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary School has an on-going commitment to ensuring that all our students have access to good quality impartial careers advice, thereby ensuring that each student has the best possible foundation on which to base their future choices and pathways.

It is the policy of this school that all pupils should be given the opportunity to:

• Know and understand themselves better and develop their capabilities.
• Investigate education, training and career opportunities.
• Implement their career plans by making informed choices, in a supportive atmosphere, about their own continuing education and training.

Our careers team offer a wide range of activities and resources, which help our students make good informed decisions about their future as they progress through the school.

Careers lead:  Mrs S Roberts
Careers support: Mrs A Hamilton

They can be contacted on careers@bcs.hants.sch.uk or by calling the school office.

Careers Programme Investors in Careers 

We are proud to announce that Bishop Challoner has been awarded the Quality in Careers Standard, the national benchmark for excellence in careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG).

This award recognises our ongoing commitment to preparing students for life beyond school — whether that path leads to further education, apprenticeships, training, or employment. The Quality in Careers Standard is the highest accolade a school can receive in this area, and it reflects the strength and depth of our careers programme, which is fully aligned with the Gatsby Benchmarks.

Achieving this standard involved a rigorous external assessment of how we deliver careers education across all year groups. It recognised the positive impact of our partnerships with employers, training providers, and colleges, as well as the high quality of personalised support our students receive to help them make informed choices about their futures.

Careers learning journey

Sample program of extra-curricular career activities

The table below shows the range of extra-curricular activities and events carried out for each year group during an academic year.

This will vary slightly year on year and does not include subject specific activities or those aimed to meet specific individual needs.

Quotes from Staff on mock interview evening: “An invaluable experience, helped focus their mind on future careers, boosted confidence and helped them prepare for real life interviews”

Quote from an employer on mock interview evening “It was great meeting students who were well prepared and passionate about their desired careers paths”

Quote from student about the post 16 options talk “This really helped me to think about which college I want to attend and encourage me to look at apprenticeships”

Quote from student about CV writing workshop “This has helped me to reflect on my soft skills e.g., organisation and communication.”

Information for Employers Bishop Challoner Catholic secondary school is committed to creating and maintaining quality relationships with employers from the local area and has a number of links with a range of different companies who support the school in issues related to careers advice and guidance. This support ranges from STEM activities to career insights as well as attendance at career fairs and enterprise days. Any employer wishing to discuss how they can get involved should contact Mrs A Hamilton in the first instance either by emailing careers@bcs.hants.sch.uk or calling 01256 462661. 

Information for Teachers All teaching staff at Bishop Challoner Catholic secondary school are committed to embedding careers information into the curriculum. In addition to this, all staff are involved in career related PSHE lessons. Year group tutors deliver a programme of activities on a range of topics, including careers, during tutor time and control the feedback forms completed after all career related activities. Staff undergo training in aspects of careers Gatsby Benchmarks regularly. For more information on the Gatsby Benchmarks, please follow the link. http://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance

Information for Students and parents:

The Library
The library holds a wide selection of college prospectuses and career option information. This literature is constantly updated and available for students to take home as they please.

School Careers Advisor
At Bishop Challoner we are committed to supporting every student in exploring their future pathways. One-to-one careers meetings are a key part of our careers education programme, providing personalised guidance to help students make informed decisions about their next steps.

Post 16 Quick guide to post 16 Qualifications 

Destination of year 11 leavers 2025

Useful websites

	The National Careers Service provides information, advice and guidance to help you make decisions on learning, training and work opportunities. The service offers confidential and impartial advice. This is supported by qualified careers advisers. The National Careers Service website aims to: help you with careers decisions and planning support you in reviewing your skills and abilities and develop new goals motivate you to implement your plan of action enable you to make the best use of high quality career related tools.
	Careersbox is a free online library of careers related film, news and information. As the preferred digital new media partner to the Institute of Career Guidance, the largest careers body in the UK, Careersbox aim is to deliver a new way for students to explore their skills and career options.
	Plotr is a website created to help 11-24 year olds discover and explore careers they’ll love. It’s built around the Game which uncovers careers matched to their skills, interests and personality.
	LifeSkills, created with Barclays, is a free, curriculum-linked programme, developed with teachers to help improve the skills and employability of young people in the UK.
	icould has a range of video clips showing real people talking about their jobs and careers.
	Plan your study & work.  Your choices at 14, 16 and 18, explore different job sectors and how you can study and work at the same time – even to university level.
	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.
	The study guide section within youthspace contains a range of information including help on making options choices in Year 9, post 16 options, and getting into higher education.
	Central Governments dedicated apprenticeship website has a whole range of information to help young people decide if Apprenticeships are the right route for them. You can also search for apprenticeship vacancies.
	Changes to Informed Choices guidance for Post 16 choices. To ensure as many students and parents as possible have access to Informed Choices, we are moving the guidance onto a new website that will go live in the coming weeks: www.informedchoices.ac.uk.

Measuring & Assessing the Impact of the Careers Programme After each careers event we obtain student, staff and visitor feedback.  This is evaluated for future reference and feedback acted on.  This information is then feed into the action plan for the following academic year. Writing a personal statement

• Careers Education Guidance 2024-25
• Careers Provider Access Policy 2024-25
• Pupil Career Entitlements Outcomes

Apprenticeship Advice & Guidance amazingapprenticeships.com The information in the above website breaks down the steps students need to take to try and secure an employer for their apprenticeship. The guide is aimed at parents to help them know what they can do to support a child wanting to do an apprenticeship. ASK Offer Explainer Film[