Careers Advice Information & Guidance

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.

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 has a focus on preparation for higher education and apprenticeships. This includes Career Insight talks, conference visits and bespoke activities designed to support students seeking entry to medicine, law, veterinary science and Oxbridge. 

We also actively encourage and support Year 12 students to undertake a one-week work experience placement in order to develop career understanding and employability.  This may also include volunteering and other personal development opportunities such as the National Citizens Service.

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 2024 we successfully achieved the nationally recognised Quality in Careers Mark.  This is a nationally benchmarked award to show that we are meeting the highest standards of careers advice and recognises the quality of our careers provision across all key stages.

"This is an excellent achievement and recognises the quality and breadth of your careers provision." - Careers Mark Assessor

During the rigorous assessment process, the school's provision was evaluated to include Management of our careers programme, the quality of the Information made available to students from a variety of sources, as well as the Advice and Guidance provided by the school and our qualified Careers Advisor to help students makes the decisions that are student focused.  The assessment also included the Career Learning aspect of our programme, which measures how well the curriculum supports careers within the classroom.  The final aspect of the assessment focused on the Learning Outcomes.  

• The Quality in Careers Standard

Careers Leader: Mr Chris Germaine
Contact Email: cgermaine@crypt.gloucs.sch.uk
Contact Telephone Number: 01452 530291