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As a part of our ‘National Apprenticeship Week’, students from Year 11 and 13 were invited for a virtual session with a member of the Supreme Court, Lord Leggatt. This was a motivational and educational session with Lord Leggatt who was engaging whilst speaking to our students. The ten pupils who had been selected to ask personal interest questions were comprised from the Year 13 debating club and the remaining students from Year 11 with a known interest in Law.
These pupils felt immensely privileged to have this direct audience with a Lord of such high esteem. The rest of the 35 strong audience were captivated by the session and the insights gained from Lord Leggatt and his extensive experience at all levels of the judiciary.
We had applied for this opportunity through a LinkedIn recommendation from an ex Chase Terrace Academy student Jack Hollingworth who is currently a third year undergraduate practicing Law at Jesus College, Cambridge. Jack contacted Luke Matheson, one of our current Year 13 pupils who is an aspiring lawyer, and made him aware of this prestigious opportunity. We were thrilled to secure the opportunity and feel like we made the most of the chance.
Mrs Cowley, Head of the English Department commented: “This was one of the proudest moments of my teaching career to date. Our pupils were so slick and well prepared due to the extensive preparation that they had put in with Mr Lloyd at their weekly Debating Club sessions. We have well read pupils with such initiative and attention to detail which stands them in good stead for careers in Law.”
Mr Cain, Deputy Head of CTA, commented: “I was impressed with the sophistication of the questions, in particular the one from Luke Matheson which lord Leggatt said was high quality.”
Mrs Poppleton, Director of Careers, commented: “I was blown away by the poise and maturity of our Years 11, 12 and 13 students who were excellent ambassadors for our school. Each and every one of them should be so proud to put that they participated in this amazing opportunity on their CV.
This week, we have been celebrating National Apprenticeship Week. Nowadays, there are many exciting opportunities for students to explore but it is essential that young people do their research so that they make an informed decision about their future careers. In order to support our students with these important decisions, they have been learning about apprenticeships, the labour market and working on their employability skills.
Every day has been busy with a range of lunch time activities and visits from external speakers. On Monday, Sixth Form and Year 11 students interested in careers in Law took part in an ‘Ask a Justice’ event and we invited the Stafford College Apprenticeship Bus in to school which was well received by students from all year groups.
In celebration of National Apprenticeship Week, members of staff have put together career profiles which detail their qualifications and career pathways. These ranged from working in pig factories to filling pork pies. Students have enthusiastically completed activities based around these profiles to earn valuable house points and learn more about careers in different industries.
The whole-school focus week saw a wealth of experienced presenters from a range of providers visit assemblies to give our students a flavour of apprenticeship opportunities. These ranged from ASK Apprenticeships who talked to Year 11 students about their Post-16 and Post-18 options to apprenticeship teams from South Staffordshire College and Walsall College who talked to students in Years 9 and 10. Jayne Guest from In-Comm Training gave an inspiring presentation to Year 8 about Engineering apprenticeships and skills gaps in the manufacturing industry. She spoke passionately about encouraging females into STEM based jobs and encouraged students to get involved with activities in and out of school.
Julie Poppleton, Director of Careers, said: “There is an increasing number of students that are looking to go down apprenticeship routes. As a school we are engaging with employers who are looking to grow their own talent and are offering apprenticeships at intermediate, advanced or higher degree level.”
Carrie Cain, Assistant Headteacher, added: “Our careers programme is a golden thread that runs through the school curriculum and inspires our young people to aim high and follow their dreams. NAW plays an important part in this careers programme, and we are grateful to the companies and organisers of the events taking place in this week, as they help our students make an informed decision about their next steps.”
TO ALL PARENTS/CARERS:
Chase Terrace Academy will be closed to all students today due a maintenance issue. This morning we opened our doors to a burst water pipe in the ceiling. The water had left multiple classrooms flooded, meaning they were not able to be used and not safe for students to be in. We are currently ensuring the electrics and fire alarms are working correctly following the water damage but fully expect to be able to open tomorrow, with restricted access to the damaged classrooms. We apologise sincerely for any inconvenience this may have caused to our parents, carers and students. We will keep you updated on the circumstances.
Thank you all for your patience and co-operation with this.
50 students from across KS3, KS4 and KS5 were invited to attend and find out more about entering this competition. This was launched with some current final year undergraduate students Harry Bamforth and Nathan Edwards who are studying Journalism at Staffordshire University. Students found out about making an entry with writing words or creating a video/audio clip of their choice with a deadline of the 3rd March 2023. To support them in making an application and to explore careers in this sector, Mrs Poppleton Director of Careers, Mrs Cain Assistant Head and Mrs Cowley Head of English, arranged for some expert guests to run some short careers workshops including:
• Marketing, Media and PR
• Photography and Videography
• Journalism
• Editing and Radio presenting
We were joined by expert guests: Ed Nell a BBC Radio Presenter, Russell Youll a group Sports Editor with the Midlands News Association, Nigel Howle a Journalism Lecturer from Staffs Uni and owner of Howle Communications (which specialises in PR and Media) and Stuart James owner and Director for Emotive Eye specialising in Corporate Photography and Videography.
Mrs Poppleton commented ‘’The opportunity which our students have been given today and the time which our external guests have given us has been invaluable to our students. All students took something away with them and they were really inspired, informed and aware about the labour market and the wide level of opportunities for jobs in these sectors. I wish any students who apply for this competition every success!’’
Ed Nell commented –“It was good to educate the students upon journalism as a profession and widen their knowledge of our field. The students at Chase Terrace Academy were eager to participate in the group activities and contributed to the discussions we had about different areas of Journalism. We made sure that the groups were rotated so the students could get exposure to different types of careers.”
Earlier this week, our Year 12 students and their parents were invited to attend a Raising Aspirations Evening. During the evening, the Director of Careers, Headteacher and Head of Sixth Form talked to students and their parents about aiming high, university applications and higher level apprenticeships. One of our Senior Students, Finn Morgan also talked about his experiences of Sixth Form life and delivered some sound advice about researching and making applications early in the year.
Our Y12 Raising Aspirations Evening also saw students and parents drop into a series of sessions which shed light on the journey ahead as our Sixth Formers move into Higher Apprenticeships and university places.
The guest speakers – sessions included:
Applying to Oxbridge & Russell Group Universities – University of Sheffield
Higher Level Apprenticeships – Jessica Pieri from NGTU
Student Finance – Loughborough University
How to Start Your Own Business – Chamber of Commerce and Caitlyn Atkins (former student and business owner)
Carrie Cain, Assistant Headteacher, said: “Our Raising Aspirations Programme is not only about aiming high but also showing students how to get there. We worked hard to get a good range of speakers and every student has taken away things they can use moving forward.”
This week saw the second set of employability workshops we have held this term as part of our ongoing commitment to raising aspirations across the school. This time, it was the turn of our Year 12 students.
During the morning, students were given advice and guidance about performing in interviews, creating great first impressions and communicating effectively. Experienced professionals worked alongside our students giving them a valuable insight into their industries, what they look for when employing young people and the importance of having strong employability skills.
Students also took part in individual mock interviews with a team of 16 professionals. Each interview helped to build confidence and give students valuable experience and exposure to how interviews are conducted.
We were thrilled to receive superb feedback from both the students and employers about the morning’s activities.
Carrie Cain, Assistant Headteacher, said: “Today’s Employability workshop has given students much to consider as well as a newly acquired skillset to use in future interview situations. We are so proud of all the students who took part and very grateful to those employers who gave up their time today.”