Careers & Work Experience

Our aims

Clifton College is committed to a broad all-round education from which our pupils may develop into successful, collaborative members of the workforce. A suitably challenging academic curriculum is combined at Clifton with a wide range of co-curricular activities. Alongside this, we recognise that the skills for employment are crucial for equipping our students for the diverse, ever-changing and interconnected world. There are four main areas of careers education to help them make wise choices about their progression through learning and work:

• Careers education programme – a cross-college programme that helps them gain the knowledge and develop skills for planning and managing their careers.
• Work related learning – experiences within the curriculum and outside school which help pupils learn about a range of workplaces.
• Personalised support and guidance – help for individuals to enable them to review, plan and manage their learning and progression to the next stage.
• Careers guidance – help from specialist advisers with knowledge of opportunities and the pathways to and through them, so they can identify their long-term goals and plan steps to attain them.

Careers Advice & Guidance

At Clifton College, we do everything we can to help your child achieve their potential and prepare them for life after Clifton.

We offer specialist careers advice, with pupils receiving guidance from parents, teachers, tutors, House Masters, and the Head of Sixth Form. The Head of Careers is qualified to offer and deliver impartial 1:1 advice and guidance appointments, students are encouraged to access this service during their time at Clifton College. Furthermore, within the careers team we have an experienced International Universities Coordinator who supports students applying to higher education institutes, internationally.

Most Clifton College pupils go on to attend the university of their choice, be that Internationally or in the UK. Advice is also available for those pupils who want to go directly into work, undertake an apprenticeship or consider taking a Gap Year.

Many former pupils are highly successful entrepreneurs in business and finance, and we are also very well represented in the professions, Academia and the Arts. The Old Cliftonian Society is developing a database of past pupils who are willing to offer work experience and careers advice to current pupils and recent leavers. It is hoped this will play a key role in our future provision of careers guidance.

Work Experience

All students in the Upper school are encouraged to access work experience (WEX) during their school holiday periods. This can be utilising contacts through the college, speaking with family and friends, as well as accessing programmes such as InvestIn.There is also the opportunity to undertake Virtual WEX and many employers offer these programmes through their direct websites or platforms such as Springpod.

During sixth form, year 12-13 are able to access a WEX placement on a Thursday afternoon, this is instead of or in addition to games. It is a flexible programme to allow students to undertake short and long term placements across their time in sixth form. Students are encouraged to find their own placement and communicate with employers to confirm details. This process continues for the Year 12 summer Work Experience placement, where all students undertake a block week at the end of the summer term.

All placements are added to our Unifrog platform to ensure that the student, employer, home and school are in agreement with the placement to take place; as well as carrying out any Health and Safety requirements. Students can access support and guidance from the Head of Careers but we encourage them to explore our employer database, work directly with local businesses, as well as  make links with the OC Society, family/friends contacts.

The WEX placement option has been successful to date with students accessing opportunities through local hospitals, charities, newsrooms, laboratories, and areas of construction.

Services

The Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Marine and Royal Navy Liaison Officers visit regularly. Any student may book an individual interview, attend an advice session and arrange visits and work experience courses. For further information please contact our SSO jhughes@www.cliftoncollege.com

Old Cliftonian Society

We are proud to be able to offer links for current pupils with an extensive alumni network locally, nationally and internationally. The Old Cliftonians offer significant support to the school via offerings of work experience, mentoring and internships.

The OLD Cliftonian Society Website

External Agencies

We have a number of relationships with external agencies who are incredibly helpful in this area. The most developed relationships we have are with those below:

• Unifrog
• InvestInEducation
• Bristol Educational Partnership (5 Independent Schools; 4 Maintained Schools, Bristol University and UWE).

Students and parents are encouraged to take advantage of the professional advice and guidance either by request or referral. 

Communication 

Pupils and parents are also informed via:

• Academic forums held prior to Parents’ evenings for Years 9 to 13
• Regular careers bulletins alongside the Careers & Higher Education Hub Instagram page
• Information evenings