Our mission: ‘At George Mitchell, everything we do, we do with PRIDE’ ensures our students are prepared to take on new challenges and enter into the world of work. We work with students to develop their confidence, resilience and key skills.
We are working to develop a programme that is an integral part of the academic and wider curriculum to ensure students receive appropriate information and guidance, especially at decision and transition points.
We want our students to leave school as secure and healthy individuals who are self-reliant, assured and motivated to succeed in life. We will ensure they are equipped with the skills necessary to explore the many opportunities available to them in the world today.
Alongside their academic achievements, we encourage the personal development of all our students. We run wide ranging activities, from our weekly pastoral curriculum to themed days focusing on careers and post-16 choices. In Year 10, we also run a two-week work experience programme.
We are extremely proud of our increasingly well-recognised careers support provision for our pupils. Information, advice and guidance are critical to making informed choices. We liaise with local and specialist national colleges, training providers, employers and the voluntary sector to ensure that knowledge is up to date. We equip our students with information concerning the needs, demands and trends within the labour market. . Our programme will be tailored to support key student groups to ensure all students enter further or higher education, training or employment.
We work with students’ parents/carers and teachers starting from Year 7 through to Year 11.
We would encourage parents/carers, teachers and employers to access our careers programme by contacting a member of the Careers Team.
More information about Careers provision at GM School can be found below:
The latest advice from the National Careers Service can be found by clicking on the link below:
A–Levels
- Depending on the college, a specific grade may be required to enrol onto a specific A level course, with many requiring at least a B grade in the chosen subject.
- Usually split into AS-Levels and A2 levels.
- Studied over a duration of 2 years with exams at the end of second year to determine grade. Students generally choose to study four AS-Levels, and Three A2 Levels.
- Mainly exam based with little focus on coursework.
- After completing, it is possible to apply for an Advanced or Higher Apprenticeship; these are top level apprenticeships and guarantee work after leaving.
Apprenticeships
- You must be 16yrs old to start an apprenticeship.
- An apprenticeship generally takes between one and five years to complete.
- All apprenticeships are real jobs so all apprentices earn a salary. You must be paid at least the national minimum apprenticeship wage – and many employers pay significantly more.
EXAMPLES: https://www.gov.uk/topic/further-education-skills/apprenticeships
BTECs
- BTEC Nationals are classed as a ‘vocational’ qualification which offer a mix of practical (work experience) and theoretical (personal study) tasks. They are usually specific to a certain sector of industry and produce specialists in the given field of interest.
- Assessment is more focused on coursework with few exams (if any at all).
- They can be taken in conjunction with A-Levels or they can be taken on their own. BTEC Nationals carry UCAS points which can be used to apply for University after completion.
T Levels
- T Levels are courses which follow GCSEs and are equivalent to 3 A levels. These 2-year courses, which launched September 2020, have been developed in collaboration with employers and businesses so that the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for work, further training or study.
- T Levels offer students a mixture of classroom learning and ‘on-the-job’ experience during an industry placement of at least 315 hours (approximately 45 days).
- You can find more information about T Levels, including the subjects currently available to study, by clicking here.
- You can find a list of courses and providers by searching here.
Dear Parents/Carers,
On this page, you can find a range of helpful information to support your child through their GCSEs and sixth form. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact our Careers Lead, Ms Jackie Ainsworth, at Jackie.Ainsworth@georgemitchellschool.co.uk.
GCSE Results Day 2025 Guide
Please click on the link to see this year’s Results Day guide, written for parents and carers.
‘Choices’ – Monthly Parent Guide to Apprenticeships and Technical Education
July’s edition features Keely, a former dental apprentice, insights from Specsavers on their apprenticeship programme, opportunities with Volkswagen, changes to apprenticeships, and top tips for using the summer to get ahead.
The Parents’ Guide
The Parents’ Guide aims to provide a range of free support for both parents of sixth form students as well as those taking GCSEs, including guides, useful articles, a Q&A system where they answer questions personally, live chats and a blog with the latest news. They cover all the important issues that you may find helpful.
Qualifications and Post-16 Pathways
To help parents understand what options their children have after GCSE and Sixth Form, the Parents’ Guide have created a summary of the different levels of education, what types of qualification are available, and how different options suit different students. You can access it here.
You can also view our Post-16 Pathways page to find out more.
Personal Statements
Why not try the personal statement mind map to get your children to think about the step-by-step of what they can include in their personal statements. You might also benefit from this free guide: The Parents’ Guide to Personal Statements.
Free parent guides
- The Parents’ Guide to homelife and study
- The Parents’ Guide to helping your child know ‘what’s next’
- Start Profile – Start is a free, online careers platform, designed to connect families with their future career potential.
- National Careers Service – a comprehensive careers website with job profiles, outlining: the skills required, main tasks, pay levels and career prospects for hundreds of different jobs. In addition, valuable guidance on the different stages involved in getting a job.
- Skills for Careers – a website for anyone wanting to know more about apprenticeships. The website has a search facility for job specific apprenticeships in a particular area.
- Careers Pilot – comprehensive information on the jobs market. Contains information on the main employment sectors, including the number of people working in that sector and whether the number is projected to increase or fall. In addition, information on job salaries, relevant subject areas, top employers and types of apprenticeships.
- Icould – helpful videos about a wide range of job roles
- UCAS – a very helpful website for students thinking of applying to higher education. Also contains valuable information on different options, including apprenticeships
More helpful careers websites can be found by clicking here.
In the Spotlight…
Labour Market Information– The LMI for All portal provides high quality, reliable labour market information (LMI) to inform careers decisions.
Parent and Carer Adviser– Free impartial advice for parents and careers
Metropolitan Police Recruitment Process – Guidance on how to apply for the Met.
Useful documents
Dear Students,
On this page, you can find a range of helpful information to support you as you make choices about GCSEs, sixth form and your career. Please feel free to speak to Ms Ainsworth in the library for more information or guidance.
Post-16 Pathways
To find out more about the options that you have after GCSEs, click on the link below.
https://george-mitchell-school-2.schudio.com/
Useful websites
- Start Profile – Start is a free, online careers platform, designed to connect students with their future career potential.
- National Careers Service – a comprehensive careers website with job profiles, outlining: the skills required, main tasks, pay levels and career prospects for hundreds of different jobs. In addition, valuable guidance on the different stages involved in getting a job.
- Skills for Careers – a website for anyone wanting to know more about apprenticeships. The website has a search facility for job specific apprenticeships in a particular area. Click here to search for Apprenticeship opportunities.
- Careers Pilot – comprehensive information on the jobs market. Contains information on the main employment sectors, including the number of people working in that sector and whether the number is projected to increase or fall. In addition, information on job salaries, relevant subject areas, top employers and types of apprenticeships.
- Icould – helpful videos about a wide range of job roles
- UCAS – a very helpful website for students thinking of applying to higher education. Also contains valuable information on different options, including apprenticeships
- Aviation Industry: ‘Fantasy Wings’ work to facilitate sessions, conferences, mentoring and real flight training that at the end will give Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and Women a platform to enter and excel in the Aviation industry / become commercial airline pilots. Click here to find out more.
- More helpful careers websites can be found by clicking here.
Useful documents
All students at George Mitchell have access to Start, a service that helps to build awareness of careers and log achievements. Their profile then stays with them into adult life. You can also sign up as a parent.
Start is a free, online careers platform designed to connect 11-18 year olds with their future career potential. It combines the most comprehensive source of information with a personalised experience and career planning tools, helping our students to make more informed decisions about their future study and career options, as well as developing their employability.
What is included in Start?
- A student profile: students build their profile and access personalised study and career information.
- Modules: activities to guide students through the information on Start at the right time.
- Up to date information: engaging content on what to study, where to learn and the world of work.
- Locker: an online record of achievement to evidence skills for future applications and CVs.
- Employability action plan: Students can set goals and stay in control of their career planning.
To sign up, students need to go to https://www.startprofile.com/ and register. Once registered, login and select student. This will need to the student sign up code, available from your teacher or Ms Ainsworth,
To sign up as a parent, please see the Start Parents’ How-To Guide below:
One of the most important benefits of work experience is its potential to provide opportunities for students to learn more about their own abilities. It helps them explore their strengths and weaknesses and identify the gaps in their skills. By helping students to explore the depths of their abilities, work experience can help students to draw a comparison between the skills they possess and those required by a specific job. It encourages practical application of the knowledge they have acquired at school. Irrespective of how much students have learnt at school, work experience imparts knowledge and skills that students might have never been exposed to while studying.
Work experience also endows students with several soft skills such as interpersonal skills, communication skills, team-work and time management.
If you have further questions, please speak to Mr Khalsa, Work Experience Coordinator (Joga.Khalsa@georgemitchellschool.co.uk).
Parent Tutorial
Year 10 Work Experience Dates 2024-25: Monday 24th March 2025 – Friday 28th March 2025.
Forms to Download
Employer Feedback
The feedback from employers has been truly amazing and we are extremely proud of all our wonderful Year 10 students.
- Sammy – Mind Charity: “Sammy is great at using his initiative, very willing to learn”.
- Olivia – Metropolitan Police: “Excellent at shadowing team and working effectively”
- Ethan – Primary School: “Ethan was initially shy; however, he has grown in confidence and our team will miss him dearly”.
Work Experience in Other Years
If you are interested in completing work experience or volunteering in other year groups, please speak to Mr Khalsa, Work Experience Coordinator (Joga.Khalsa@georgemitchellschool.co.uk).
Springpod – Free Work Experience
Careerometer
The Careerometer is a widget that can be used to gain and compare key information about occupations and careers based in the UK that students may want to pursue in their future. This will display information such as Weekly Pay, Annual Pay, Hourly Pay, Hours per Week, the workforce growth and the percentage of the workforce that is projected to retire.
Careerometer Widget
Useful Careers Websites
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zhst2sg – Where could your favourite subject take you?
- https://www.omio.com/travel/gap-year – Gap Year – A useful guide.
- https://www.startprofile.com – Our online Careers platform.
- https://www.careerpilot.org.uk – Choose a subject you love and see where it might lead.
- http://www.prospects.ac.uk – A free website for searching different job profiles and easy to navigate.
- https://icould.com/buzz – Careers quiz, as well as videos and articles about different careers / industries.
- https://university.which.co.uk/advice/a-level-choices/six-things-you-need-to-know-before-making-your-a-level-choices – Includes advice on choosing A’ level subjects, and also, if you scroll to the bottom, you can input three A Level subjects and it then gives university degree and job matches.
- http://university.which.co.uk/advice/a-level-choices/what-are-btecs – BTECs are an increasingly popular alternative to A-levels as a route to university – here’s what you need to know.
- http://university.which.co.uk/advice/a-level-choices/a-levels-or-btecs-which-should-you-take – A-levels or BTECs – which is the best path for you? A comparison guide to help you decide on the next options you should pursue.
- https://www.informedchoices.ac.uk/ – Information and advice on best subject choices for university courses.
- https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk – Forum, advice, GCSE, A Level, university, jobs, finance, revision.
- https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/ – Government apprenticeships site with information about apprenticeships and employers.
- https://www.skillsforgrowth.org.uk/ – London-based site for apprenticeship and skills training.
- http://healthcareers.nhs.uk – Jobs and careers in the health and medical sector.
- http://www.stepintothenhs.nhs.uk – Quiz that can be used for suggestions of careers you may be interested in within the NHS.
- http://www.creativeskillset.org – Information about creative careers, including college courses, Open Events and apprenticeships.
- http://www.do-it.life – National Volunteer website.
- https://barclayslifeskills.com/ – Help to build employability skills and win the chance to do work experience.
- https://www.goconstruct.org – Showcases the many career opportunities available in construction and the built environment.
- https://www.springpod.com/ – Springpod offers virtual work experience programmes with top employers and universities, and free online courses to try before you apply.
Calling All Former Students!
If you’re a former student of George Mitchell School, we want to hear from you!
Your experiences since leaving could help to motivate and inspire our current students to feel more confident in making decisions about their future. We’d love you to join our ever growing alumni network and stay connected with the school.
You can choose how and when you help – perhaps you could act as a career and education role model, provide work experience, become a mentor in person or online, or even apply to become a governor!
It doesn’t matter when you left us, whether you’re in further education or employment, whether you still live nearby or have moved further away – there are still ways you can help and we would love to stay in touch.
Please get in touch by emailing Jackie.Ainsworth@georgemitchellschool.co.uk
Stories From Our Alumni
We are so lucky to host this brilliant talk from Abadhe, our hugely successful former pupil. George Mitchell students were transfixed! You are a superb influence Abadhe and your words really resonated today! Well done and thank you to all. GM Aspire continues!
We are so proud of our former students! Their achievements are incredible.
We miss you all!
Careers: Key Personnel
- Careers Lead – Ms Jackie Ainsworth (Jackie.Ainsworth@georgemitchellschool.co.uk)
- Work Experience Coordinator – Mr Joga Khalsa (Joga.Khalsa@georgemitchellschool.co.uk).
- Careers link Governor –
Jackie Ainsworth
Ms Ainsworth is our Careers Lead. She is a Level 6 qualified careers practitioner with several years’ experience. Ms Ainsworth ensures the careers programme meets all the statutory government requirements. She also develops the programme to meet the needs of all our students.
As a member of the Career Development Institute and Register of Career Development Professionals, Ms Ainsworth has to observe the CDI Code of Ethics. The guidance that she provides to students is always impartial, accessible and free from bias. Ms Ainsworth completes 25 hours of CPD per year and holds a Level 6 Careers and Leadership qualification with the Careers Development Institute.
Place within the Curriculum
There is a planned programme of learning experiences with Careers Related learning outcomes for Year 7 to Year 11 which enable young people to:
- Develop themselves through career and work-related education.
- Learn about careers and the world of work.
- Develop career management and employability skills.
An independent qualified Careers Advisor attends the school at regular and key times throughout the academic year to provide individual advice and guidance to students. All careers advice and guidance given is person-centred, impartial, unbiased, confidential (within legal confines) and meets professional standards of practice.
Independent and impartial careers information, advice and guidance is provided in schools for students from Year 9 onwards by qualified careers advisers who are attached to the school from 15 Billion (Home – 15 Billion EBP).
Careers appointments can be arranged through Learning Leaders/Form Tutors or Ms Ainsworth at school.
Other formal and informal partnerships
The school has a number of formal and informal partnerships arrangements with post-16 providers, colleges, employers, higher education and training providers.
At points across the school year, a variety of employers and external providers are invited into George Mitchell School to talk about different careers. Please see our Provider Access Policy for further details.
Management of CEIAG Provision
The CEIAG Programme is planned and implemented by our Careers Leader (Ms Ainsworth) and the nominated member of SLG (Ms Tomkins), and involves working closely with key staff, students, parents and the wider community.
Staffing
All staff contribute to CEIAG through their roles as Tutors, Subject Teachers, Curriculum/Subject Leaders, and Heads of Year, or as a Careers Professional.
Measuring Impact
The School will assess the impact of its careers programmes on students by completing an annual student survey and analysing destinations data in line with activities that they have taken part in at school. In addition, the views of students and parents will be surveyed after key events e.g. the Careers Information Evening; Year 10 Work Experience. We also us the compass evaluations against the Eight Gatsby Benchmarks. We will constantly update and evaluate our programme based on the introduction of new technology, education and careers information, which will enable us to make sure that we are able to provide the most relevant, up to date and inclusive programme for all of our students.