Year 11 Post-16 Pathways 
Information
One of the many things we absolutely pride ourselves on at Claydon High School is our commitment to Careers Information, Education Advice and Guidance for all of our students.
Our Year 11 Pathways Information Event covers the support offered to students in Year 11 and the options available to them for the next stage of their education or training.
Explaining Course Levels
After Year 11 (Post 16) courses are available at Entry Level, Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. The
table below shows an overview giving typical entry requirements and examples of courses.
Choosing Courses
1. Attend open days and find out as much as possible about the course content, assessment methods, etc. and choose the method that suits the student. For example, A Levels are mainly in academic subjects and the main assessment is by examination, whereas with the extended diploma, each course is in a particular vocational area and there is more
continuous assessment throughout each unit.
2. If they are not sure which Post-16 provider to go to, apply for more than one. Final decisions are made after students have received their GCSE results.
3. If the student wants to go to university look at university undergraduate courses on
www.ucas.com and check entry requirements for areas of interest.
4. Look at job and careers information and check entry and training requirements (see
National Careers Service details below).
5. APPLY as soon as possible after the open days – even if students are not 100% sure of
their course combination. This will be discussed at interview and can be changed.
For a list of local further education colleges with links to key information, videos, course content and application forms, please click on the link below:
Further Education Establishments
For advice on choosing A Levels or BTEC (T Level) courses, please click on the link below:
Apprenticeships
To learn more about apprenticeships and local vacancies go to
https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch - if you click on ‘Browse’ it will bring up the categories of apprenticeships which will help narrow your search. If there are vacancies that are of interest click on those and that will take you to the full details and facilities to apply on line.
It’s worth starting to look now as some large companies start their application process early. You can also set up an account so when a vacancy in the chosen category is put on the site, students will receive an alert either by email or text.
Researching Careers
The National Careers Service website has a range of job profiles to help you understand particular jobs. Each job profile gives you details of the work, the main tasks, entry qualifications and training.
If your child is undecided about which path to take we would suggest using free personality tests on websites icould or Start Profile. icould.com has a short personality test which is helpful for suggesting career areas. StartProfile.com has a much longer game which will suggest more
specific career paths. Both of these websites have a link to job profiles and labour market
information.
For more information regarding the labour market, please click on the link below:
1-1 Careers Advice
Natalie Lusted is the visiting careers adviser from 'All Together'.
All Year 11 students have a 1-1 interview with her to discuss their options. Whilst some students are very definite in their plans, some won’t be and one interview will not be enough to decide their whole future. Ms Laing will help these students to research and use websites to help them decide what suits them best and suggest they come back for a second interview. Students can ask Mrs Garner - Wider Opportunities Co-ordinator, to arrange this.
Open Events - Autumn 2024
Please note that for many of these events, tickets need to be booked online so please go to their websites for more information.
More Information
For more details on what we do here at Claydon High School with regards to careers advice and the curriculum, please click on our dedicated Careers and Employability website page.
