Careers at SGGS

 

We do not believe that either external providers or teaching-staff solutions are enough on their own. We want to give students the flexibility to ask questions and investigate career thoughts as soon as they have them. In our last ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted report careers was described as a ‘strength’ of the school. Students at this school are well prepared for life beyond school. Mrs Lardner, the school’s qualified Level 6 Careers Advisor and Work Experience Coordinator is always available on-site; ensuring individual, impartial, career discussions can be provided at any time. These conversations are not just reserved for older students. 

SGGS regularly hold careers events, organise trips to universities and invite speakers and Alumnae to share their experiences with current students through assemblies and talks, both physical and virtual. Students take part in multiple career-focussed activities. This academic year we are planning on focussing on a number of national career campaign events including Green Careers Week and Creative Careers Month in November, National Apprenticeship Week in February and National Careers Week in March. 

Key contacts

Upcoming Events

This academic year we are planning a number of career events including: a Study Abroad session for sixth form students in October, a visit to a local university for our Year 12 students in October, our Post 18 evening for Year 12 and their parents/carers in January and work experience for students in Year 10 and Year 12 during Enrichment week in the summer term.  We will also have a number of external speakers coming into school to deliver careers assemblies, lunchtime talks and within curriculum lessons throughout the academic year.   

Unifrog

The school is committed to careers education and has invested in ‘Unifrog’ as a careers platform which helps students across the whole school from Year 7 upwards to explore all opportunities available to them at key points such as Year 9 options; and Post 16 and Post 18 choices. 

Unifrog provides impartial and up-to-date information on the full range of post-16 and post-18 options, all in one place. Students can compare every undergraduate course in the UK as well as 170,000 courses taught in English around the world. Additionally, Unifrog provides students with access to the most comprehensive database of apprenticeships across the country at all qualification levels, including Higher, SLP, and degree apprenticeships, as well as FE courses.

Once students have explored their interests and compared the full range of pathways available to them, Unifrog provides the writing tools and guidance to help them draft applications including CVs and personal statements. 

Careers In The Curriculum

We do not wait until students are reaching their final years with us to foster career thinking. The SGGS curriculum continually evolves to ensure students have the best possible foundation for their future from Year 7. Students will learn about career opportunities within every curriculum subject area and understand the transferable skills that each provides. We are fortunate to have a great employer and alumnae network who support teaching staff by going in to lessons to help bring the curriculum to life. This has included a Marketing company delivering lessons to Year 9 students for their project on Marketing and a former student who is now a freelance illustrator going in to Art lessons to talk about their career journey since leaving SGGS.

Initially, career advice is broad so that each student is encouraged to explore different interests and discover new strengths. Every subject taught at SGGS is specialised but includes wider benefits that will develop overall employability skills, from public speaking and confidence in Drama to teamwork and strategy in PE. All students use a range of career planning tools, accessed through Unifrog, to focus on individual goals and achievements, designed to help them become ‘life-ready’, beyond their time in education.

PSHE

PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic) prepares SGGS students for real-life experiences and covers a vast range of different topics, including career planning. Taught in lessons throughout the entire 7-year SGGS journey, our advice becomes more tailored to each student the further they progress through school. Insight is given into career choices, routes to specific jobs of interest, employment law, succeeding at interview, CV writing and more.

Employer Information

We are very keen to engage with businesses and employers to help us inform and educate students about their future.  This links directly with Gatsby Benchmark 5 – Encounters with Employers and Employees, and Gatsby Benchmark 6 – Experiences of Workplaces. We provide many opportunities for businesses to interact with students including work experience, our speaker programme and careers events and workshops throughout the year.  If you would like to get involved, please email the Careers Advisor & Work Experience Coordinator Mrs Lardner, lardner.h@sggs.org.uk. 

Parent/Carers Information

For any parents/carers who would like to contact our Careers Advisor we have a dedicated email account set up for communicating about careers (careers@sggs.org.uk).  Information about our careers programme is shared with parents/carers on the school App and also at specific school events including the Year 10 GCSE evening, Year 12 Parents Information evening and Year 12 Post 18 evening.  We are very keen to engage with businesses and employers to help us inform and educate students about the local and national employment opportunities and we would like our parents/carers to support our careers activities for the 2026/27 academic year.  Please complete this short form if you are able to offer support to our careers programme:  SGGS Careers Programme Employer Engagement 2026/27   – Fill in form

Destinations and Alumnae

We use our destination data at both Post 16 and Post 18 to monitor trends and evaluate our careers programme: Destinations

We have established an extensive alumnae network and regularly have members contribute to mock interviews, careers assemblies and lunchtime careers talks.

We would love to hear from you if you are a former student and are interested in joining the alumnae: Alumnae

Useful careers websites

• SGGS Careers Policy 
• Unifrog: Unifrog - The universal destinations platform.
• National Careers Service: Careers advice - job profiles, information and resources | National Careers Service
• Government Work Hub: Home - Work Hub
• UCAS: https://www.ucas.com/
• Informed Choices: https://www.informedchoices.ac.uk/
• UK Graduate Labour Market Information: Luminate
• Prospects Job Profiles: Job profiles | Prospects.ac.uk