Supplementary Activities with Local Businesses

At Longdean we recognize the importance of students having regular contact with employers. The Government guidelines recommend that students have meaningful contact with people from business at least once very school year. The findings, from the Education and Employers charity, suggest that there are many long-term benefits of links with business.

• Inspiring Girls morning – Year 7 girls meet local women employers to find out more about careers opportunities.
• Creating and marketing a product – Year 7 students are in small groups with a person from business, the task is to create a soap, adhere to a budget, market, advertise and sell the product.
• Speed networking day – Year 8 students meet 24 employers one at a time and ask them questions about their career in an attempt to find out more about the world of work and people’s career journeys.
• Work Shadowing – Year 9 students accompany an adult to work, the aim of the day is to look at the differences between work and school and identify aspects of the job that they would enjoy.
• CV workshop – Year 10 Guest speakers from Whitbread deliver this workshop to all Year 10 students.
• Career Talks – Year 10 students select 3 talks that they wish to attend. Talks are offered in virtually all career areas but if a student has a specific idea they are given an individual meeting.
• Employability Skills Day- Year 10 we liaise with Connect Dacorum to provide this experience. Local employers come into school to run small groups through a morning of activities focusing on the skills that employers are looking for.
• Work Experience – Year 10 all students spend 1 week in the work place.
• Pathways Day – Year 11 students are given a series of workshops to help them with the Post 16 choices. Local colleges are invited in and we run a session to explain about the Apprenticeship route. We also have workshops giving information about the Longdean sixth form and going to University. We also have a session called Looking to the Future where we invite a guest speaker from industry to raise aspirations and a workshop about Interview skills.
• Mock Interview Experience – Year 11 we work with BT and Epson alongside other local businesses to provide every Year 11 student with a mock interview and immediate feedback. They are also given feedback on their CV and other paperwork.
• Apprenticeship workshops – students can join an Apprenticeship group where they are given help with finding and applying for apprenticeships.
• Work Opportunity week – Year 12 students are given the chance to spend 3 days in the workplace.
• Mock Assessment day – Year 13 students are put through a series of activities that they would experience in an assessment day scenario. They are then given feedback on their performance.
•  Career Presentations - In the sixth form we have set up a series of talks from employers in an attempt to broaden student’s knowledge of the world of work and raise aspirations.
• Sixth Form Enrichment - Students can use this time to gain valuable work experience.
• For careers  - advice anytime as well as providing family support and guidance.