'What do you want to be when you grow up?'
For many young adults the question of which route to pursue after GCSEs is the biggest decision they have ever had to make. It is also no longer a decision that can be avoided; now that young people are required to stay in full time education or employment until the age of 19, it isn’t possible to take a year out to think or to wait for an epiphany, or to try your hand at things before choosing to pursue a handful of subjects or a specific apprenticeship.
FOR SOME STUDENTS THE NEED TO MAKE A DECISION WILL INSPIRE ACTION, RESEARCH, DISCUSSION AND A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND INDEPENDENCE.
Another group may have been determined to pursue a particular passion or career for some years, and simply need some guidance in how best to approach their challenge (and encouragement to keep their options open in case something should go wrong with plan A). In contrast others become frozen in terror, unable to take action in any direction because of the weight of the consequences resting on the decision ahead of them – with some suffering from feeling (wrongly) that they are alone in the situation of not yet having not settled on any particular career path or aspiration, and feel bound to fail or get left behind.
Every individual has a unique mixture of personality attributes, learning experiences and styles, knowledge, and hopes and aspirations for the future. What one girl may be desperate to pursue, another may detest; one student’s area of struggle may be another’s opportunity to thrive. Quite plainly there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the question of post-16 education, nor any guarantee as to what is the best route, even for careers as well defined as doctors and midwives, pilots and teachers, let alone those less obvious such as entrepreneurs, astronauts, politicians or comedians. So what can be done to support our young people during this difficult time, whatever their current situation and future dream? How can we give our girls the best possible start as they embark upon the rest of their lives out in the ‘real world’ beyond school?
I was pleased to hear our Head of Careers, Mrs Sarah Newbery, speak passionately at the start of this term about her assertion that she will not directly ask the questions of students ‘what career do you want to pursue?’ or ‘what do you want to do after school?’ prior to Sixth Form. Mrs Newbery highlighted an important point that children need to be allowed to develop their personalities, ‘life-skills’, and academic prowess – to become individuals in their own right – before tackling the question ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’.
ATTEMPTING, TOO EARLY ON, TO GIVE CHILDREN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE VAST RANGE OF OPTIONS AWAITING THEM ONCE THEY LEAVE SCHOOL, CAN APPLY UNNECESSARY PRESSURE AND CAUSE WORRY ABOUT THEIR FUTURES.
Of course we don’t wait until Sixth Form to start encouraging the girls to think about or prepare for the world of work – we just do it in a more helpful way, without pressurising them to decide anything early on. This approach has led to a full programme of ‘careers’ events for students from Year 7 to Year 11 which focus more on encouraging girls to consider how attributes such as personality traits, passions, areas of interest, skills, and roles in a team impact on each other (Year 7 to Year 9 students), and building on this foundation through developing an awareness of factors affecting life after school – for instance the financial implications of opting to go to university versus pursuing the apprenticeship option – and practising interview skills and CV writing (for students in Years 10 and 11).
One such dedicated careers day took place for Year 11 students on Thursday 7 January, when the girls had the opportunity to enjoy a full day of activities organised by Form the Future CIC in conjunction with a number of volunteers from local businesses. Business representatives put the students through their paces and conducting interviews to highlight the importance of interview skills, an activity the students found really valuable, whilst Lloyds Bank introduced the girls to the world of financial responsibility. Many were shocked at the realisation that entry level salaries only stretch so far in comparison to the cost of living. One parent of a Year 11 girl praised the interview practice session, highlighting that friends’ children hadn’t received any interview advice or practice as there was none in place at her own school, and on being rejected from the University of Oxford the university had suggested the girl would have benefited from just such an interview practice session.
It is during students’ Year 11 academic year that discussions begin about life beyond GCSEs. Each Year 11 girl is invited to a guidance meeting along with her parents, in which a member of the Senior Leadership Team works together with the student and her family to understand any existing plans, hopes and concerns for the future, and consult with the family on the next steps for the student. Due to a number of reforms made to GCSE, AS Level and A Level curricula in recent years (and with more changes to come), some parents and students are understandably concerned about the implications of these changes: which results will universities now use to make offers; will the same combination of A Level subjects be required by universities for specific degrees? Allaying these fears and unpacking some areas of confusion at this stage helps to ensure the experience for parents and students over the next three years is a happy and successful one.
It is important at this point to support and encourage those students displaying exceptional talent and ambition, in the pursuit of a career as a professional dancer, sports person, or actor, whilst also encouraging them to plan for all eventualities. Post-16 is an important time for those who would pursue this type of ambition, often opting to specialise in their discipline, ending more traditional academic study at this point, such as A Levels. With all of the celebration of talent and support of success that these individuals deserve, we do habitually recommend that students persevere with academic study even if just as ‘something to fall back on’. For instance, Hannah McCloed, Olympic medallist for hockey, also boasts a PhD in Environmental Physiology, completed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Diploma in Sport and Exercise Nutrition, and runs ‘A word on nutrition’. By continuing with academic study as well as pursuing a professional sporting career Hannah is an inspirational role model to talented young people. Had Hannah been less successful in her pursuit of becoming a professional hockey player, she would still have impressive and edifying achievements and working commitments to ‘fall back on’.
I believe that the more informed parents and students are at this stage, the more easily they will be able to arrive at an agreement, and the more likelihood that this plan will enable each student to prosper.