Web Links
Header Image 1

Careers

Careers graphic

Mission Statement:

Our aim is to ensure our students leave Coundon Court academically successful and with the knowledge and experiences that will enable them to direct their own lives and have a great life. 

At Coundon Court, our careers programme is geared around one word – Opportunity. Opportunities will be available to students throughout their lives, some they will encounter and others they will need to pursue. We equip students to be able to capitalise on these opportunities throughout their lives.

Intent: Our careers provision gives students the know and skills required to recognise, seek and seize opportunities to enable them to succeed, now and throughout their lives. We empower all Coundon Court students to make confident, impartial, and informed choices about their future career options. Regardless of background, our approach focuses on providing purpose, direction, and opportunities to all our students. Enabling them to flourish as individuals, become highly employable, and achieve personal and economic wellbeing throughout their lives in modern Britain. Each year group has a specific focus for their careers programme:

Year 7 – Discover 

Through a mixture of assemblies, educational visits and visitors, Year 7 students will hear from professionals from a wide range of industries, having the opportunity to ask questions about their background and professional journey. Students will also begin to learn about university and higher education. This year is about opening students’ eyes to discover the wide range of professions and higher education opportunities open to them.

Year 8 – Experience 

In Year 8, students’ build on their discovery of professions and higher education by experiencing it for themselves. All students will benefit from visiting a university and learning about training opportunities to enable them to pursue professions of interest to them.

Year 9 – Explore 

Year 9 is a year of important choices, where they will explore pathways. Students will be selecting their GCSE subjects, using their knowledge of professions and higher education/training to make their choices with confidence and a future focus. Students will also experience a realistic work-place environment/activity to develop their understanding of the world of work.

Year 10 – Develop 

Year 10 is about refinement. Students will develop their abilities to seize the opportunities they want for themselves. All students will learn how to research jobs, create a CV and apply. They will then put these skills to the test in a practice interview with a visiting professional and receive personalised and meaningful feedback.

Year 11 – Realise 

This year is where students utilise all of their knowledge and skills to secure the most ambitious destination for themselves. With input from visiting speakers from a range of industries, attendance to the careers fair and one-to-one support from our careers advisor and members of the leadership team, students will realise their potential.

Year 12 – Discover, Experience and Investigate Post-18 options

As they enter the Sixth Form, and new opportunities open up to them with Level 3 study, students will revisit their knowledge and skills to hone them further. Students will benefit from visiting speakers and presenters from a wide range of industries, backgrounds and education/training providers to equip with the knowledge they need to plan their next steps.

Year 13 – Realise

In their final year of schooling, students are supported on a one-to-one basis to secure the most ambitious destinations for themselves. With frequent input from tutors, careers and pastoral staff, students will create the best-possible applications to allow them to move onto a positive, challenging and rewarding destination, realising their potential.

Impact: Coundon Court frequently measures and assesses the impact of its careers programme through student surveys, destination data, Unifrog Charts, and the COMPASS+ tool each term to reflect on progress towards the Gatsby benchmarks. We provide parents the opportunity to feedback on the programme and obtain employer feedback after all employer engagement activities.

Ultimately the impact of our programme is measured by the destinations our students go onto – Coundon Court students routinely achieve outstanding destinations that are significantly better than the national average.

Destinations data for 2024:

Year 11:

2024

Coundon Sixth Form

32%

Other Sixth Form

6.2%

College

46.3%

Apprenticeship

9.1%

NEET

2.4%

*National NEET figure for 16-18 year olds in 2023 is 8%.
*National figure for students in apprenticeships in 2023 from 16-18 is 4.6%.

Year 13:

2024

Progressed to HE or training L4+

74%

University

69%

Employment

16%

Apprenticeship

4.7%

Training or education

9.5%

Gap Year

8.4%

NEET

3.4%

First Choice University

90%

Russell Group

27%

Early Entry

1%

*National figure for students entering Russell Group Universities is 17%
*National NEET figure for 18-year-olds is 14%
*In 2024, national figures for students achieving their first-choice university place was 76.4%

Contact

Are you an employer or an alumni of Coundon Court?

If you would like to visit our school and share your experiences of your company/careers, please get in touch via this link:

Information for Students

We are committed to helping you prepare for the world of work.

Careers Tutor Programme

Digital Resources

Unifrog is an online platform which can help you compare every university course, every apprenticeship and Further Education courses. There will be designated time in the year to access Unifrog in school, but we encourage you to also access this platform at home to help explore your career options.

To login in to Unifrog for the first time:

  1. Click on ‘Forgot Password’
  2. Enter your school email address.
  3. Check your emails.  If you cannot see an email from Unifrog, check you junk email.
  4. Set a new password.  [Online Safety reminder: Do not give your password to anyone].
  5. Go back to Unifrog website and log in with your email address and new password.

 

To log into Unifrog, go to: Sign In - Unifrog and enter your username and password to access your personal profile.

Useful links

Apprenticeships

Year 12/ 13 students

Student Apprenticeship Guide

General Careers Research -

Inclusive Employers

 

Oxbridge Application

For any of you who are considering applying to Oxford or Cambridge, it is important to begin your preparation early in your careers journey. In Year 12, work will need to be well underway regarding your personal statements, academic portfolio and finding suitable references. 

UCAS applications to Oxbridge (Oxford or Cambridge) is earlier than other universities, with an October deadline, and a thorough application process. For a snapshot of the Oxbridge application process, see below.

Oxbridge Application Process

To find out more about the early entry process, click here: The Student Room – Uni Guide

Pathways

  • Download

    Future You
    a handbook to help Coventry young people (14-18) to take their best next step, published by Coventry Careers Hub.

Skills Tests and Early Entry

Subject Specific Research

T-Levels

University Preparation

Work Experience (WEX)

Our Year 12s have an opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge of the world of work when they complete work experience in the Autumn Term.  Work experience is important because it allows you to find out more about yourself.  Discover your strengths, values, motivations and interests.  You can build your network of contacts and gain an insight into how an organisation works.   Spending a week in a workplace gives you extra examples to discuss in future interviews, or to add to your CV,

Springpod - https://www.springpod.com/

Information for Parents/Carers

Your child will receive a comprehensive programme of careers lessons through the tutor programme. Alongside this programme, they will have several opportunities to meet professionals and employers from a wide scope of job sectors, talk to apprentices, develop employability skills and experience mock interviews.

A significant aspect of your child’s careers programme is learning about different pathways available at post-16 and beyond. To find out more about different pathways, explore the links below:

Apprenticeships

  • Amazing Apprenticeships – For a selection of useful downloads and ‘quick read’ guides, find out more about apprenticeships in the Parent Zone.  Click here for link: Parent Zone.
  • Amazing Apprenticeships Magazine – Try their revamped ‘Choices’ magazines which provides parents and carers with up-to-date information and guidance to understanding apprenticeships and technical education. Download here: Amazing Apprenticeship Choices Magazine
  • Amazing Apprenticeship Podcast – If you are on the go and would prefer to listen to hear the perspective of fellow parents and carers, you could subscribe to Amazing Apprenticeships podcast: The Parent Perspective Podcast.

What are T-Levels?

University and University Finance

Quick Downloads

Subject Specific Apprenticeships - provided by The National Apprenticeship Service 8 facts you need to know about apprenticeships, brought to you by Amazing Apprenticeships.

 

Information for Staff

The Coundon Careers curriculum is an integral aspect of our Personal Development programme.

We believe it is the responsibility of all staff to ensure the success of the Coundon Careers curriculum.

Staff Careers Roles

Information for Tutors

Tutors are essential to high-quality delivery of the stable careers curriculum (GB1) through tutor time. There are five Careers sessions every half term.

Careers Tutor Programme

During the Careers QA process, tutees may be asked to articulate:

  • Do you know which careers you are considering in the future?
  • Do you know which subjects/ grades you might need for this career?
  • Do you know the range of pathways/ most suitable pathway into your chosen career?
  • What do you learn in your Careers lessons? Are these lessons valuable for young people your age?  Can you explain why?

 

Important Dates for Careers Diary

Coundon’s Careers Fair

  • 3rd week in October – Refer to whole school calendar for specific date.

National Apprenticeship Week – 10th – 14th February 2025

To find information to raise the profile of apprenticeships linked to your subject visit:

National Careers Week – 1st week in March [3rd -8th March 2025]

To find out more information to raise the profile of careers in your subject visit:

 

Former Students/Alumni

We are always keen to welcome our former students back ‘home’ to Coundon Court.  Being a Coundonian, it is an exciting prospect for our current students to hear from you and to see what prospects and opportunities could also unfold for them when they complete their journey at Coundon Court. 

There are many ways you could support the Coundon Careers Programme.

Alumni Opportunities

If you would like to be part of our alumni network, please click on the link and fill out the online form.

Information for Employers and Higher/Further Education Providers

We are always keen to welcome new apprentices, employers and representatives from Higher Education and Further Education Providers. There are several opportunities for you to support the Coundon Careers Programme.

Employers Opportunities

:     

Labour Market Information (LMI)

What is Labour Market Information (LMI)?

LMI stands for Labour Market Information.  It provides information about the job market and is a useful tool to use when considering when deciding which career path to take, or considering a change of career in the future.

There are two types of LMI:

  1. National LMI      – Discover employment trends across the country.
  2. Local LMI             – Explore sectors near you have the most vacancies (jobs available).

 

For a quick summary of LMI, watch this video produced by The Shaw Trust.

What else can LMI tell you?

Employment trends

  • Skills gaps in different sectors.
  • Which jobs will be available in the future.

Progression routes

  • Which transferable skills will be needed.
  • Learn what pay to expect for specific job roles.

Help to make informed decisions

  • Where to look for the job/ career you are interested in.
  • Which new jobs are becoming available in your area.
  • Where to find reliable sources for recruitment.

Coventry Labour Market Information

Click on the PowerBI dashboard produced by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

Useful websites to find out more about LMI and careers:

  • LMI For All - A comprehensive portal providing high-quality data. Click here: LMI For All
  • National Careers Service - With over 800 job profiles, investigate the average salary, typical duties, working hours and pathways into the profession. Click here: National Careers Service
  • I Could - With videos and real-life personal stories from young people, ICould uses LMI data from LMI For All to provide practical advice and support. Click here: ICould
  • Office for National Statistics (ONS) – An interactive link which helps you search for skills desired by employers in your area. Click here: Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Measuring Impact

Our Careers programme is aligned with the eight Gatsby Benchmark. For ‘Good Careers Guidance’ and complies with the Department for Education’s Statutory Guidance for Careers.

Coundon Court measures and assesses the impact of its careers programme through:

  • student surveys (universal) and student voice focus groups (targeted).
  • KS4 and KS5 pupil destination data.
  • Unifrog Charts.
  • COMPASS+ tool each term to reflect on progress towards the Gatsby benchmarks.
  • Pupil evaluation forms following careers event.
  • Parent evaluation forms.
  • Volunteer evaluation forms.
  • Staff evaluation forms.
  • Governor and SLT scrutiny of the Careers Improvement Plan.

The Careers programme is reviewed annually and amended in accordance to the needs of our students.

Careers Related Policies & The Baker's Clause

The updated provider access legislation (PAL) has now been enacted. It specifies schools must provide at least six encounters with approved providers of apprenticeships and technical education for all their students:

  • Two encounters for pupils during the ‘first key phase’ (year 8 or 9) that are mandatory for all pupils to attend
  • Two encounters for pupils during the ‘second key phase’ (year 10 or 11) that are mandatory for all pupils to attend
  • Two encounters for pupils during the ‘third key phase’ (year 12 or 13) that are mandatory for the school to put on but optional for pupils to attend

Coundon Court's Provider Access Policy.

Coundon Court’s Careers Policy‘What is the Baker’s Clause’,(provided by www.amazingapprenticeships.com)

Useful Careers Vocabulary

When you are reading about Careers, there is a lot of Careers-specific vocabulary.  You can download a useful vocabulary sheet to help you understand these key terms.

Careers Key Terms

Coundon Court School Northbrook Road Coventry CV6 2AJ

Contact

Mr C Heal
Principal
Miss C Lindsay
SENDCO

Useful Links