Careers

Careers at Chosen Hill School

Chosen Hill School has high aspirations for all of our students regarding Careers, and we demonstrate this by placing inspiration, mentoring and real-life insights into the workplace at the core of what we do.

The school encourages students to think about their future possibilities; to aim high, motivating them in school as well as beyond; to be informed about education, training, and career options; to assess their current strengths and areas for development; and to acquire the skills valued by employers.

As a school we give students and employers the following opportunities:

• We give employers a voice in the classroom, giving students a first-hand view of the world of work through access to inspirational speakers and role models;

• We make available visits to workplaces and high quality work experience that reflects the strengths of individual students and has clear links to the curriculum;

• We Provide mentoring and support for those who need it most and are at risk of becoming disengaged from education;

• We Provide access to impartial information and advice on a broad range of options including apprenticeships, entrepreneurialism and vocational routes alongside A levels and university, to support informed decisions at key transition points;

• We Provide opportunities for students to voice their ideas and suggestions on what they want from careers guidance - and how they think it should be delivered;

• We Work consistently to prevent all forms of stereotyping in the advice and guidance the school provides, to ensure boys and girls consider the widest possible range of careers.

• Choices and requirements for Further and Higher Education and Training, along with Labour Market needs, change constantly, so career planning needs careful consideration for everyone regardless of ambition and potential achievement. The Careers Department offers a friendly service to help all our students look at the course and career options to match their likes, dislikes and current predicted academic abilities.

There is a dedicated careers office and careers library, which is open throughout the year, and holds a supply of local college, school sixth form and university prospectuses along with a selection of apprenticeship and industry information. The department arranges various events within the school and promotes those events and opportunities taking place outside that may be useful.

Our Careers Team

Ali Selwyn

I am the Careers Lead at Chosen Hill School.

I joined the school in June 2021 after working at Severn Vale School for 15 years. I recently completed my level 6 in becoming a Careers Lead I also completed my level 6 in CEIG.

Careers advice and guidance as always been my passion.  I believe giving young people the opportunity to explore the opportunities available to them regarding further and higher education, and the opportunities within the world of work is vital to help them progress into adulthood. 

Ali Williams

I am an Independent Careers Advisor and have been working at Chosen Hill school for more than four years now. I have over fifteen years of experience as an HR professional as well as experience in employability and outplacement. I've worked abroad and have experience in many sectors which gives me a broad understanding of what employers are looking for.

I am graduate and have a Level 7 qualification in Careers Advice & Guidance (QCG). I am a mother of two teenage children myself, so I hope I can understand the challenges of encouraging teenagers to think about their options from a parental point of view.

Contacting the Careers Office

Mrs Allison Selwyn is Careers Lead at Chosen Hill School. Students in all years can come to the career’s office during any non-lesson time to ask about careers. Contact can also be made by sending an email to careers@chosen-hill.gloucs.sch.uk or by phoning 01452 713488.

Professional Advice

Independent and unbiased careers guidance is provided by Alison Williams, a professional careers advisor, who visits the school twice a week during term time to meet with students individually and to give group talks. All students at Chosen Hill will receive at least one-half hour appointment during KS4. Some will receive two meetings, with many more students also receiving individual advice in Year 9.

We hope that students will take full advantage of the opportunities on offer at Chosen Hill School.

Gatsby Benchmarks

Every young person needs high-quality career guidance to make informed decisions about their future. Good career guidance is a necessity for social mobility: those young people without significant social capital or home support to draw upon have the most to gain from high-quality career guidance. In 2013, Gatsby commissioned Sir John Holman to set out what career guidance in England would be like if it were good by international standards, resulting in the Good Career Guidance report. The eight benchmarks set out in the report serve as a framework for improvement in careers provision and have been adopted as part of the Government's Careers Strategy and statutory guidance for schools and colleges. In addition, The Careers & Enterprise Company now supports the implementation of the benchmarks in schools and colleges. we have sought to gather evidence of the effectiveness of the Benchmarks, including a four-year evaluation by the University of Derby published in 2021 which found the benchmarks had a positive impact on students' career readiness and GCSE attainment.