This year we developed a new model for our Year 11 Mock Interviews. Previously we had seen the school close for Year 7 to 10 but as we continue to strive for positive attendance across the school and with improvements being seen, we needed to keep the momentum going! This resulted in us creating a new structure for our event, whilst keeping the engagement and standards high, and a meaningful encounter with an employer for our students... and it certainly did that! We ran mock interviews across 2 days and each student experienced the process of a ‘real-life’ interview, and received personal feedback on how they can improve for the future. The Main Hall was transformed with interview booths, a student waiting area and of course, a refreshments tables where employers could interact before the interviews began. Many of our employers praised the new format with 100% saying they enjoyed taking part and strongly believed this event benefitted the students. Across the 2 days we had 45 employer's conducting interviews from a variety of job roles and as per last year we had a fantastic turnout: 

Therapist	Telecoms Fibre Engineer	Nurse	Social Worker
Early Years Teacher	Therapist	Legal Assistant	Electrician
Construction Worker	Paramedic	Physiotherapist	Senior Sports Coach
Sports Coach	Beauty Therapist	Accountant	Wind Engineer
Secondary Teacher	Journalist	Primary Teacher	Aerospace Engineer
Hairdresser	Tattoo Artist	Personal Trainer	Software Developer
Cabin Crew	Animal Care Assistant	Royal Air Force	Founders Assistant
Solicitor	Actor	Midwife	Army Recruit
Football Coach	Bricklayer	Police Officer	Mechanic
Plumber	Civil Engineer

Each employer chose a ‘winner for the job’ and certificates were awarded to students in the celebration assembly on the Monday morning following the event, student feedback was just as positive as previous years with 97% saying they enjoyed the experience, 100% enjoyed their encounter with the employer and 98% found the feedback useful in supporting them with future interviews.  

Before Christmas I did a survey with Year 11 and 57% students had already completed their post-16 applications, and following December's careers week, this number increased to 75%. Next week all Year 11 students will complete a ‘Post-16 Destination Form’ and this will give me a clear picture of those students who still need additional support with applications, and I will spend the next half term meeting students to complete these. Please continue to get in touch if your child requires any additional support: hayley.lawes@hessleacademy.com.  

Thank you to those students who have returned their Work Experience Placement Forms in time for the deadline this week, this process can take a lot of patience and perseverance when trying to source a placement. We have been granted an extension to our deadline for the Placement Forms, with a new and FINAL deadline set for Friday 25th April 2025. This will hopefully give those students who are still searching for a placement more time to get sorted. Remember to please make yourself known to Tutors or myself if you are struggling. 

We celebrated the annual National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) with activities in tutor time including the apprenticeship quiz and giving students up to date information as well as hearing from people who have chosen this pathway when leaving school and the many benefits this has to offer. Apprenticeships are certainly not the easy route and there are more and more students opting for this pathway so it is important that students can stand out with strong grades, work experience and an impressive CV. 

Prior to NAW, the STEM Roadshow delivered an interactive performance / workshop with our Year 7 & 8 students. This year's theme was Artificial Intelligence. Here’s what they had to say... ‘’Artificial Intelligence is already making a tremendous impact across the globe. Our presentation introduces the topic of Artificial intelligence as a tool that can be embraced with just as much gusto as Google was 5 years ago. The Roadshow demonstrates some useful applications of AI for both teachers and pupils and stresses how important human skills are to ensure that we can maximise the effect of Artificial Intelligence in our lives. We demonstrate some already well-established tools and illustrate how to spot deep fakes and other dangers surrounding AI. We demonstrate how AI can be a valuable learning tool for both teachers and pupils - all with the assistance of our AI robotic dog, Lexi. It is a show full of surprises and insight that is designed to promulgate the safe adoption of AI tools in the public domain, today and tomorrow.’’  

The students were also made aware of the different job roles surrounding AI, the skills required and routes, particularly with a focus on apprenticeships, into these. 

It was great to welcome our students back after the summer break and we certainly hit the ground running with their careers journey. I began the year by delivering a careers assembly to each year group, focussing on the Careers Programme and highlighting the different events and activities we have in store for the students over the next year. I talked about the importance of CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance) and how their time in school and involvement in these events and activities can prepare them for the decisions they will make in the future. My Year 9 assembly was teamed up with Miss Moore who coordinates and delivers the Duke of Edinburgh programme, which has proven to be very popular amongst students over the years.  

The Careers Programme for 2024/25 can be found here. 

Our Year 11 students have a big year ahead of them, as not only will they be preparing for their GCSE exams, but students will be completing their applications for their post-16 destination, this may include Consortium Sixth Form College, other sixth form and college providers, apprenticeships, Armed Forces, employment with training etc. There are many options to choose from, but students need to make the right decisions for them, and support is provided along the way. To kick start the year, Mr Groak and Mr Wilson have been delivering the Aiming Higher Programme which involved a series of assemblies and workshops to raise aspirations and to inspire students to have high expectations of themselves and to develop self-belief that they can achieve the grades necessary to progress on to university. 

All Year 11 and 13 students have had their initial careers guidance interview with our External Careers Advisor, and we have now moved onto second interviews for those students who require. We welcomed our new Careers Advisor Katie Bembrick in September, Katie will be in school on Mondays and Wednesdays conducting careers guidance interviews. Please contact hayley.lawes@hessleacademy.com should your child require another appointment.Last year we re-launched Work Experience with our Year 10 students after a 10-year gap! As you can see from the feedback below, students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and found their insight into the world of work beneficial, developing employability skills and making new contacts for the future. Some of our students have shared their experiences with this year’s cohort within assemblies and parent/carer information evenings.

Last year we re-launched Work Experience with our Year 10 students after a 10-year gap! As you can see from the feedback below, students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and found their insight into the world of work beneficial, developing employability skills and making new contacts for the future. Some of our students have shared their experiences with this year’s cohort within assemblies and parent/carer information evenings.

We have now launched WEX with our current Year 10’s and parents/carers, we have already received Placement Forms and a large volume of Parental Consent Forms which is great, please continue to return these forms ASAP to tutors (see deadlines below). As per last year, students are responsible for finding their own placement for three days between Wednesday 2 July and Friday 4 July 2025.

• Parental Consent/Medical Form – no later than Friday 20 December 2024

• Placement Form – no later than Friday 28 February 2025

In preparation for their initial career’s guidance interviews, Year 10 students have completed a pre/post Interview Questionnaire. Interviews commence mid-November up until the summer term. Students included information about their initial post-16 plans and ideas; where they are thinking of applying, the types of jobs they’re interested in and there was also an opportunity to rank their priority which will help to determine the order in which the students will be seen across the year.

Other events which have taken place so far this year included Restart a Heart Day, in which Year 7 students learnt vital lifesaving CPR skills as well as hearing about different roles within the health sector. Students in Year 9 also received a refresher on this day! The Year 9 Inspiration Day took place in October, preparing students for choosing their KS4 Options to study in Year 10 and 11. We had a positive response from students with 95% enjoying the event and 98% who found the event useful in preparing them for making decisions about their future and keys stage 4 options. We had a variety of workshops including the following:

• Net Zero – Northern Gas

• Careers Advisor – Finance & Budgeting  

• Choosing your Key Stage 4 Options (to study in Year 10 & 11)  

• Post-16 Pathways (after Year 11)  

• Log On Move On & Employability Passport – ESP Team 

• Apprenticeships & T-Levels – Hull College 

• Post-14 Transitions and Preparations 
• Emotional Support – Coping with change

And finally, Year 13 Pathways Event saw students get involved in a variety of workshops including interview skills, personal statements, revision & motivation techniques, and post-18 plans including apprenticeships. We saw several providers and businesses attend the event to discuss the opportunities available including BAE Systems, Siemens, McArthur Dean, HETA, Humber Teaching NHS Foundation. 

Groups of students across Year 9, 10 and 11 attended two annual Careers Fairs, Women into Manufacturing and Engineering at the Guildhall, Hull and the Foundations Live Construction Event at Bishop Burton. Both events gave students the opportunity to speak to various employers and training providers and get involved in some interactive activities. A popular comment from students was ‘’I did not realise how many different jobs there were in this industry’’!

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