Northampton Academy hosted a vibrant Character and Careers Day for students to gain the skills and knowledge they need to plan their futures.
The day saw students from across Years 7 to 10 all enjoy a full day of workshops, character-building activities and guidance from careers experts. The event was delivered as part of Northampton Academy’s commitment to providing an Education with Character, where staff aim to provide wider opportunities for students to gain the necessary qualities, skills and confidence to succeed at Higher Education and beyond.
Last year, Northampton Academy was one of the first schools in the country to be awarded the ‘School of Character' kitemark in recognition of this approach towards developing good character amongst their young people.
For the Character and Careers Day, we welcomed visitors from a range of fields who offered the students information and guidance about their future career options. Year 7s heard from Jamie Bradford of De Montfort University, who gave an assembly on study paths within Higher Education and the benefits this brings. At the same time, students in Year 8 got the chance to meet with industry workers, including from representatives from Travis Perkins, Northants Police and the British Army.
Further up the school, Year 9s enjoyed assemblies from Trudy Bell, Creative Director at the Royal & Derngate Theatre, Liam Norton, a representative of the University of Northampton and Heather Gallagher, Associate Director of midwifery at NGH. Students were given a first-hand insight into opportunities in the arts, technology and healthcare and took the chance to ask questions about the types of roles available and experience needed.
Year 10s also spent the day enhancing their independent research skills by looking into specific careers of interest to them and working on their Work Related Learning Project.
Mr Anderson, Director of Character, said “Education with character is about teaching students to do the right thing, even if no one is watching and helping them to become confident, resilient and compassionate young people. We also want our students to understand from an early age the many exciting opportunities available to them and get them thinking about the careers that they can aspire to. Days like these, which bring so many of our students together, reflect our ongoing commitment to character development and supporting our students to be the very best they can be.”
Year 8 student Luke N, said, “I really enjoyed the talks and found the whole day very inspiring. We also worked on preparing for life after school. It was interesting and made me think about the variety of jobs available. It is a good idea to learn about careers in Year 8 as it allows you time to prepare for the career that you might want in the future.”
Year 7 student Alexandra O said, “The assembly with De Montfort University really inspired me, I didn’t realise there were so many choices available for the future. The careers talks inspired me to follow my goal to become a PE Teacher one day, I learned that positivity, determination and patience will help me achieve this”.
Year 7 student Katie M added, “ I found looking at all the career options really enjoyable, I am interested in going into Health and Beauty and this really helped me understand what is involved. Before the assembly, I hadn’t really thought about university or college, but I found it really reassuring to find out more about what happens at university. The character work we did showed me that I am capable of achieving anything if I am ambitious enough to succeed, I can now see all the opportunities that are available to me”.