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Careers Advice Information & Guidance

We want our students to achieve academically but also enjoy fulfilling personal and working lives when they have left us.

Careers Education is delivered progressively in all year groups as part of our Personal Development Programme as well as being firmly embedded into all departmental schemes of study. We aim to equip all learners with the knowledge and skills to navigate the choices and changes ahead. This is underpinned by a Careers Education & Guidance Policy. This has the full commitment of the school leadership team with Director of Post 16 Education & Personal Development, Mr Robert Biggs, our strategic lead.

All Years – Students will have the opportunity to have a Careers Conversation with our Careers Advisor throughout the year (see below)

We are mindful to reflect labour market developments in Gloucestershire and beyond in the design of our careers support. We aspire to reflect and support the county's Local Industrial Strategy Our Careers Education Programme is supported by regular engagement activities with employers and education providers including our highly successful annual Careers & Higher Education Fair Convention. Outside organisations should refer to our Provider Access Policy for details concerning access to learners and school events. We seek to embed Labour Market Information into the school curriculum to allow students to make informed decisions about their futures.

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All students may access a professionally qualified Careers Adviser (Mrs Helen Michaluk) for one-to-one guidance. She is also available to meet parents/carers and students at school information events.

Sixth Form careers support focuses on preparing students for higher education and apprenticeships. Our programme includes Career Insight talks, conference visits and bespoke activities to support students pursuing medicine, law and veterinary science, as well as those applying to Oxford and Cambridge.

We actively encourage and support Year 12 students to undertake a one-week work experience placement to deepen their understanding of careers and develop their employability skills. Students are also encouraged to participate in volunteering and other personal development opportunities to broaden their experiences, build confidence and prepare for life beyond school.

Careers information resources include a dedicated Careers & Higher Education Resource Centre and online access to several carefully selected resources located on the school intranet. This includes our own careers portal Careers Companion (please note this is only available with a current school log in). Refer also to the Useful Links suggested from the Beyond the Sixth Form.

The Crypt School is a dynamic and forward thinking school. Approximately 70% of our Year 13 students progress to university, whilst the remaining 30% pursue the Apprenticeship or employment route, with a few seeking a Gap Year. We currently work with a range of local and national employers, both on a formal and informal basis. We have a wide range of companies who support our careers Insights Programme, which runs in terms 5 and 6, as well as local and large multinational companies help with our year 8 and 9 employer engagement activities. We are also grateful to the businesses that accommodate our year 10 and year 12 students on their work placements during the school year.

As a school we believe passionately in developing meaningful and sustainable links with businesses, where a real impact can be made on our students' learning and careers progression. For example, we have two local engineering and aerospace companies who are regular visitors in school, who mentor and support our Lego programme and work with potential engineers of the future. We also work closely with a wealth management business, who support our students with opportunities to enhance their CVs.

We are always looking to develop new relationships and would be delighted to talk to any business organisation who would like to work with us and our students. We welcome positive feedback as well as feedback to allow us to move forward and shape what we do better. Please do not hesitate to contact Chris Germaine, careers Leader - cgermaine@crypt.gloucs.sch.uk

In March 2026, we successfully achieved reaccreditation of the nationally recognised Quality in Careers Mark, building on our original award in March 2024. This nationally benchmarked award recognises the continued quality of our careers provision across all key stages and our commitment to maintaining high standards of careers education, information, advice and guidance.

"The provision for careers at The Crypt School is strong and is testimony to the hard work of the careers team. Learners are well equipped to take their next steps in the different stages of their life and career journey by the time that they leave school.” - Sally Bryant, Career Mark Assessor, 2026

The rigorous assessment evaluated the Management of our careers programme, the quality of Information available to students from a wide range of sources, and the Advice and Guidance provided by the school and our qualified Careers Advisor to support informed, student-centred decisions. It also examined Career Learning, assessing how effectively the curriculum embeds careers education within the classroom, alongside Learning Outcomes, considering how our provision develops students’ knowledge, skills and confidence to take their next steps.