Careers
|
CURIOSITY Students actively explore interests, pathways and possibilities, seeking out opportunities that broaden their horizons. |
COMPASSION Students build empathy, teamwork and communication — understanding others is as central to employability as understanding oneself. |
COMMITMENT Students follow through — securing work experience, refining applications and taking ownership of their own next steps. |
Careers Provision at HRSF
Our careers provision is part of our wider Personal Development Strategy within our Co-Curriculum. We aim to make students informed and competitive. Our students actively seek out opportunities that will enhance their competitive profiles, gaining valuable experiences that set them apart. They understand the skills that employers seek — such as communication, teamwork and problem-solving — and use this understanding to embrace challenges that enable growth. This enables our students to become self-assured and confident, able to make bold, brave and ambitious choices.
The programme is designed to be progressive — spiralling in the truest sense. Year 12 is about exploration and preparation: building self-awareness, foundational skills and early experience of the world of work. Year 13 is about application and transition: turning that foundation into live applications, recruitment and a confident move to the next stage. Each competency introduced in Year 12 is revisited in Year 13 at greater depth and with greater independence, so that students don't simply repeat their learning but build on it.
Click here to view the careers curriculum in an alternative format
A Progressive Approach
Our careers programme is designed to evolve with the needs of our students:
-
In Year 12, the emphasis is on exploration and preparation — self-discovery, foundational skill-building and first experience of the workplace.
-
In Year 13, the focus shifts to application and transition — turning that foundation into live applications, recruitment processes and a confident next step, whether in education or employment.
At Harris Rainham Sixth Form, we are committed to supporting every student in achieving their ambitions. Through a robust and engaging careers programme, we aim to provide the tools, experiences, and guidance necessary for a successful and fulfilling future.
Our Sixth Form Ethos, Woven Through Every Stage
Harris Rainham Sixth Form's motto — Curiosity, Compassion, Commitment — is not a separate add-on to careers education; it is the thread that runs through it:
-
Curiosity drives students to explore interests, question assumptions about their future, and seek out unfamiliar opportunities — from psychometric profiling in Year 12 to deeper exploration of career types and entrepreneurship in Year 13.
-
Compassion shapes how students work with others — understanding employer and employee perspectives, collaborating in group interviews, and recognising that communication and teamwork are as valuable to a career as any qualification.
-
Commitment is built through follow-through — independently securing work experience, persisting through a formal interview with a stranger, and refining a CV or personal statement until it is genuinely ready.
Rather than being confined to a single year or activity, all three qualities are present throughout the programme — but Year 12 leans most heavily on Curiosity as students explore and prepare, while Year 13 leans most heavily on Commitment as students apply everything they have explored and transition to their next step. Compassion is the constant thread connecting the two.
Year 12 Careers Programme — Exploration & Preparation
In Year 12, students focus on exploring their interests and future career pathways, building self-awareness, practical skills and confidence as a foundation for future planning. The programme is delivered through six units, each explored in full lesson-by-lesson detail in the Year 12 Careers Plan:
|
Unit |
Focus |
|
Knowing Yourself |
Students explore their interests, values, personality, strengths and skills, and consider how the labour market is changing, building a personal career profile. |
|
Exploring My Options |
Students research labour market information and post-18 pathways in depth — including degree apprenticeships, apprenticeship levels, and university degree structure and classifications — before setting SMART career goals and an action plan. |
|
Preparing for the Workplace |
Students learn how to find a work experience placement, research employers, communicate professionally, and understand workplace expectations, including health and safety. |
|
Developing Employability Skills |
Students are introduced to National Interview Week, build networking skills and elevator pitches, and prepare to make the most of the UCAS Discovery event. |
|
Career Readiness |
Students build teamwork and communication skills, prepare for interviews using structured responses (STAR/CAR), understand digital professionalism, and develop effective exam revision strategies. |
|
Preparing for Year 13 |
Students explore and prepare for Year 13 applications, understand how apprenticeship recruitment works and how to become a competitive applicant, and prepare for and complete a work experience placement, considering work-life balance and wellbeing. |
Year 13 Careers Programme — Application & Transition
Building on the foundations set in Year 12, the Year 13 programme focuses on application and transition, ensuring students leave confident and well-prepared for higher education, apprenticeships or employment. The programme is delivered through four units, each explored in full lesson-by-lesson detail in the Year 13 Careers Plan:
|
Unit |
Focus |
|
Making Competitive Applications |
Students explore options including university, degree apprenticeships and employment again — before writing personal statements and professional CVs and submitting applications. |
|
Recruitment and Selection |
Students build interview and assessment-centre skills — including group interviews, an interview masterclass and virtual interview platforms —in preparation for university, degree apprenticeship and job interviews begin. |
|
Building Your Professional Profile |
Students build a professional digital brand and understand AI in recruitment, then develop the financial and practical knowledge — student finance, budgeting, contracts, payslips and salary negotiation — needed for independent life after sixth form. |
|
Transitioning into Adult Life |
Students develop professional behaviours, resilience and networking skills, plan for results day and contingencies, and build a five-year career plan and portfolio. |
At Harris Rainham Sixth Form, we are dedicated to equipping students with the skills, knowledge and experiences needed to make informed decisions about their future careers. Our comprehensive careers programme ensures that students aged 16–18 are fully prepared for higher education, apprenticeships, or direct entry into the workforce.
Mapped to the Gatsby Benchmarks
As a quality check on our provision, the table below maps our Year 12 and Year 13 careers activities against the eight Gatsby Benchmarks, the framework used nationally to define good career guidance.
|
Gatsby Benchmark |
How HRSF Delivers This |
|
1. A stable careers programme |
A named, progressive programme runs across both years — Exploration & Preparation in Year 12, Application & Transition in Year 13 — reviewed annually and reported to leadership. |
|
2. Learning from career and labour market information |
The Future of Work and Exploring My Options (Year 12) and Building Your Professional Profile (Year 13) build understanding of labour market trends, pay, and routes into work. |
|
3. Addressing the needs of each pupil |
Unifrog psychometric profiling in Knowing Yourself personalises guidance from the start of Year 12, ensuring advice reflects individual interests and strengths. |
|
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers |
Career pathway and career-type units connect subject choices to real routes into further study, apprenticeships and employment. |
|
5. Encounters with employers and employees |
UCAS Discovery, National Interview Week, Recruitment and Selection (assessment centres, group interviews, employer assessment day simulation), and direct engagement with apprenticeship recruitment all bring students into direct contact with employers and industry professionals. |
|
6. Experiences of workplaces |
Every student prepares for and completes a week of work experience in Year 12, drawn on again directly in Year 13 applications and interviews. |
|
7. Encounters with further and higher education |
UCAS Discovery connects students with FE/HE providers; university, degree apprenticeships and employment routes are covered in depth in Year 12's Exploring My Options and Year 13's Making Competitive Applications and Building Your Professional Profile units. |
|
8. Personal guidance |
Interview preparation and practice, CV and personal statement work, and ongoing form-time careers sessions provide sustained, personalised guidance across both years. Students also have access to a qualified and impartial careers advisor who offers careers guidance sessions to all students. |
Summary
The spiral design of the HRSF Careers Programme means no student's careers education is a single event — it is a two-year journey. Year 12 is about exploration and preparation: Curiosity opens the door, and students discover their strengths, explore their options, and take their first steps into the world of work. Year 13 is about application and transition: Commitment carries students across the threshold, turning everything they have explored into live applications, successful recruitment, and a confident next step. Compassion connects the two, shaping how students work with and learn from others throughout.