insideKENT Magazine Issue 103 - November 2020 | Page 154

EDUCATION

BLACKHEATH HIGH SCHOOL : SPOTLIGHT ON HEAD OF FUTURES CATH DAY

IN ASSOCIATION WITH
What is your role at Blackheath High School ?
I work as Head of Futures . My role is to prepare girls for the future in the broadest sense . At Blackheath High we don ’ t solely focus on jobs or pigeonhole the girls into “ traditional ” careers , but give them the space to make reasoned decisions about their lives after school . Our aim is for the girls to leave Blackheath High with practical life skills and a career path which speaks to their interests .
You work with the girls from Year 7 upwards , but how does your role develop as they reach Sixth Form ?
My relationship with the students becomes more personal as their needs become more individual in Sixth Form . Our careers tutorials - which are coaching sessions in small groups of no more than four - help facilitate forward-planning and openmindedness , as well as independent learning and taking ownership of their career development .
What makes Blackheath High ’ s approach to careers / futures guidance different ?
Definitely the variety of opportunities combined with a bespoke approach to careers guidance . The Futures Programme is broad-ranging , multi-faceted and above all , intellectually stimulating ! We believe in encouraging the girls to consider worlds outside their own experience to develop their empathetic and communication skills . For example , all of our Sixth Form are receiving dementia awareness training this month , irrespective of whether they are considering a career in medicine or the caring professions . We also make it our priority to support students in their areas of interest ; for example , one Year 12 student this term expressed a keen interest in a career in cyber-security . Despite lockdown , we managed to secure her a work experience placement with a London firm , where she will be shadowing the CEO of a cyber-security firm .
What are the tailored career programmes and how do these help the Sixth Form students decide their future pathways ?
Every student from Year 7 upwards has access to a platform called Unifrog where they can document their skills and competence in a range of different areas . Unifrog also allows the students to research a range of careers and alternative routes through education , alongside giving them access to virtual work experience and toolkits on CV and personal statement writing .
Alongside academics , what are the key things that Blackheath High ’ s Sixth Form aims to teach the girls ?
We aim to teach the girls independent learning ; collaborative working ; the ability to think critically and interrogate what we see and hear ; outward-thinking and open-mindedness . Above all , we teach them to strive for excellence in everything they do , which means preparing them for whatever challenges and opportunities they may face when they leave school .
In response to exams being cancelled you introduced Excelerate 2020 , why did you decide to do this ?
We wanted to use the cancellation of exams as another opportunity to provide the Year 11 and Year 13 girls with practical forward-looking life skills that would prepare them for the next step in their journeys . Excelerate 2020 ran over the summer and provided a tailored programme of seminars from specialists on practical skills like budgeting and sustainable living , to foundation courses in chosen university degree subjects . It was important to all of us at Blackheath High to give the girls a focus for the future at a time when for many the future looked unclear .
How do the curriculum and co-curricular activities set the Sixth Form girls up for the future ?
We pride ourselves on academic excellence but know that a good education doesn ’ t focus solely on grades . Our co-curricular activities in particular respond to the needs of the students and help develop both intellectual and critical thinking skills . The Sixth Form students run the Societies Programme which centres around an area of interest for them . Not only do the girls get to explore their topic of interest in greater detail , they learn how to work collaboratively , how to produce and deliver a coherent scheme of work and how to organise their time effectively .
What are the benefits of the Girls ’ Day School Trust ( GDST ) network for girls at Blackheath ?
Students become members of the GDST Alumnae Network , of over 70,000 women . The network offers peer-to-peer support , mentoring and work experience . It also helps them foster an outward-looking attitude and gives them informed guidance on the choices affecting their futures . It is an extremely supportive and useful network that the girls take full advantage of even beyond school .
www . blackheathhighschool . gdst . net
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