Careers Information

The careers department at Comberton Village College and Sixth Form aim to inspire pupils and students to make wise and informed choices and plans for their future.

We use the following 8 Gatsby Benchmarks to plan our careers programme:

• A Stable Careers Programme

We have a structured careers programme that encompasses all our year groups, which is published on our website. This includes a range of career events, career guidance meetings, encounters with employers and further and higher education establishments, work experience and lessons delivered through our Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum.

We hold regular meetings with an Enterprise Co-ordinator and Enterprise Advisor from The Careers and Enterprise Company, who support us in delivering and evaluating our careers programme. This is evaluated termly using the Compass Careers Benchmark tool.

Mrs Fay Lawson is our Careers Leader who is based in the career’s office within the library. Pupils and students can visit the careers office during break and lunchtimes or can contact Mrs Fay Lawson on flawson@combertonvc.org to schedule a meeting. We also have a Careers Advisor from Form The Future who visits once a month to meet with pupils and students to provide external input.

Feedback on our careers programme is welcomed from pupils, students, parents/carers, teachers, and employers. Please email Mrs Fay Lawson with any feedback at flawson@combertonvc.org  After each careers event, an online form is sent to pupils and students to gain feedback on what they enjoyed and any suggestions of improvements. 

• Learning from Career and Labour Market Information

Cambridgeshire has a huge array of opportunities and jobs on offer. The key sectors of employment include health, education, and retail alongside a number of sectors that are vital to our local economy such as life sciences, digital, advanced manufacturing and agri tech.  (Source: Cambs and Peterborough Careers Hub & The Careers & Enterprise Company). The careers department has built successful working relationships with many local employers, education establishments and apprenticeship providers who attend our careers events to speak with our pupils and students about their careers and pathways available.

A copy of the local labour market information can be found in the labour market information link on the side bar and found on our careers padlet for our sixth form students:  CSF Careers (padlet.com)

The library and resource centre has a well-stocked careers library, which contains books, leaflets and prospectuses on different career paths, higher and further education, apprenticeships, gap years and other pathways.

• Addressing the needs of each pupil and student

We aim to do everything we can to inspire and encourage each of our pupils and students to realise their full potential and have happy and successful working lives.

All academic and vocational paths ranging from university and other course options, to jobs, apprenticeships and entrepreneurship are covered fairly and impartially.

The careers department work closely with staff in the Cabin, The Centre and KS3/4/5 support to fully support our pupils and students with additional needs.  For example, for Year 10 work experience, Mrs Fay Lawson will visit each of units separately and work with the pupils attached to these units to provide support alongside their communication specialists/support workers.

• Linking curriculum learning to careers

We offer a timetabled programme of careers education through our PSHE curriculum covering a wide range of topics appropriate to each year group. The programme can be found on each year group page on our website. There is also a separate sixth form careers programme.

We work closely with the Head of PSHE, Senior Management, Heads of each year group and teachers and tutors to ensure that careers education is linked to the curriculum wherever possible. For example, posters are displayed within departments showing possible careers linked to each subject.

The careers department encourages links between employers and apprenticeship providers through our curriculum. For example, construction firm RG Carter are involved in a mentoring programme for our GCSE construction pupils.  We are always keen to build further links with employers within our curriculum and encourage employers to get in touch via the following link: Link to Parent, Carer and Alumni Network form

• Encounters with Employers and Employees

All our pupils and students have a careers event each academic year, which includes information on technical pathways and apprenticeships to meet the Provider Access Legislation (PAL) guidelines. Careers events for key decision-making years 9, 11 and 13 are always scheduled before the end of February. We deliver a range of career events for our pupils and students, including large scale career fairs, career carousels and apprenticeship talks.

We work alongside Form The Future to plan and deliver these events and have built successful working relationships with employers, further education, and apprenticeship providers.  We also encourage our parents, carers and alumni and any new employers to participate in these events. If you are interested in attending, please complete the following form: Link to Parent, Carer and Alumni Network form

After each event, pupil and student feedback is obtained so that we can measure the success of each event.

• Experiences of workplaces

Year 10 pupils complete a self-organised work experience placement for a 2-week period in July. Our year 12 students complete a self-organised 1-week work experience placement in July. 

The work experience process involves researching industries, contacting companies, attending interviews/meetings prior to the work experience placement, and completing their work experience placement. Work experience enables pupils and students to gain increased knowledge of their chosen industry and the workplace, develop their skills in a professional environment and gain additional skills and experience to support further applications.

The careers department works closely with many local employers and organisations to implement work experience schemes and placements throughout the academic year.  For example, the NHS has a work experience programme for Year 10 upwards which offers work experience in a variety of different areas at Addenbrookes/Papworth to gain medical work experience.

•  Encounters with Further and Higher Education

The careers department ensures that encounters with further and higher education are provided at career events. For example, our recent Careers Fairs for Years 10 and 13 featured Cambridge Regional College, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge Military Preparation College, and alumni representation from Falmouth University.

Our Post 16 Manager arranges visits for pupils and students to several colleges and universities. We have early entry guidance for students who are applying for Oxbridge.

We also provide several talks/lectures about further and higher education. For example, we hold a talk for year 12 students on applying for Ivy League Universities.  

•  Personal Guidance

Pupils and students are able to meet with Mrs Fay Lawson for a careers meeting.  In key decision-making years such as Year 9 options and Post 16 decision making, pupils and students will also receive extra guidance meetings with members of the Senior Leadership Team. A Careers Advisor from Form The Future will also visit once a month to undertake further careers meetings with pupils and students.

Mrs Fay Lawson is available to meet with pupils and students at break and lunch times and by appointment by emailing flawson@combertonvc.org  Parents and carers are also encouraged to join in person/remotely.