On Friday 29 April, Year 8 students had their first Careers and Futures Focus Day. We were fortunate enough to have the input of Bower and Kirkland, the company responsible for constructing our new building. A member of staff from the company gave assemblies on various careers in construction and tips on how to write a successful CV.

After the assemblies, students returned to their classrooms to learn more about full and part-time jobs and got practice writing their own CVs and researching different career paths. They even got to ‘Play the Boss’ by playing an interactive game online which meant that they had to review various CVs within ten seconds and make snap decisions as to whether or not to accept the candidates. Students engaged extremely well and demonstrated maturity throughout the day.

You can read below how some of our students enjoyed the day:

I really enjoyed this Focus Day because we had two assemblies that brought us all back together and then we went to our House groups again. I enjoyed the topic that we were doing because I got to see what the jobs in manufacturing do and earn in a fun way. I would like to do a careers Focus Day again on a different area of job so I can learn even more. Charlie, 8 Walbrook

I enjoyed the Careers Focus Day as it opened my options up for the future and allowed me to explore different careers based around my interests. I also had the opportunity to share ideas and acknowledge others’ talents and interests. Additionally, we were given the chance to watch a presentation from a worker on the company building our school, which gave us an idea of what the construction industry was like. I thoroughly enjoyed this focus day as I now know how to explore my different interests. Aine, 8 Bow

I really enjoyed Focus Day because I got to learn about different career paths and it really made me think about what career I want in the future. I got to learn about what a CV is, how to lay it out and what to write in it. Overall, I really enjoyed Focus Day and found it a fun experience. Naz, 8 Walbrook

Focus Day was a lovely and informative experience. We learnt about different part time jobs and why people have part time jobs whilst studying. I mostly enjoyed the part where we worked in groups to present the jobs that we preferred. Nehir, 8 Walbrook

Careers Focus Day was enjoyable for all different people as there were multiple activities for students that are good at creative skills such as starting to write our CVs (a highlight of the day for me personally). Also learning about construction and our new site and our building, which we will be moving into very soon. Working collaboratively to find our teachers’ first jobs was another highlight whilst also thinking about maybe following in some of their footsteps in our future careers. Tom, 8 Bow

I enjoyed our Careers Focus Day and I think we all took a lot from it like our understanding and knowledge about jobs and the legal age to earn and do certain things. I think this also helped us expand on our relational and social skills as a class, as we all got to participate and work together to work out different tasks. Kaydie, 8 Piccadilly

Our Careers Focus Day was an exceedingly inspiring experience that opened students' eyes to a universe of possibilities in their individual futures. We all learned lots about ourselves and our hopes. We also had fun writing our own CVs. Malakaai, 8 Holborn