Post 16 guidance

How does Honywood help you to get to where you want to be?  You may have a good idea of what you want to do, you may have lots of ideas or you may have none at all!  What do you need to know? What options should you take? How do you decide? What happens next? 

At Honywood you receive careers guidance in lots of different ways so that you get a really good understanding of different sectors and what you would need to do to give yourself the best chance of achieving your goals!  

This all starts with selecting the most appropriate GCSEs for YOU!

How to decide

• Ask subject teachers for more information.  Make sure you ask questions about what’s involved in the subjects and what you’ll be learning about. It might be very different to what you have studied so far. Does it sound interesting? Do you think you will enjoy it?

• Ask your parents, relatives and friends for advice as they know you best, and if you have any friends or brothers and sisters who have done the course already - ask them about it too.

• Find out how the course is assessed? Are you someone who does better in coursework than in exams? If so, some of the vocational (work related) courses might be worth considering.

• Trying to choose between two subjects? Think about how each option fits with your other GCSEs. Does a subject go well with your other choices? Or does a subject provide a welcome change? If you’re taking lots of Science and Maths based subjects, it can be good to include one choice which is essay based.

• If you know what you want to do after Honywood then find out what the pathway is to get there. For example, to be a Doctor (7 high grade GCSEs including triple Science & Maths, 3 A-levels, a five-year medicine degree, two years’ specialist training) therefore subject choice is essential.

• If you’re not sure what you want to do after Honywood then I would encourage you to make a personal decision around which subjects you enjoy the most and are good at.  This is one of the few times in your life that it is OK to be selfish and take control of your future.

KS4 - Career related sessions continue into Cohorts 9, 10 and 11 to help prepare you for the future and you will be able to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses and think more about careers and courses you can study when you leave school.  We will help prepare you for the world of work by providing you with practical tasks such as writing a CV, interview experience, guidance on your personal statement, visiting universities and careers fairs, giving you an insight into industry by talking to visiting employers and speakers from colleges, including current Colchester 6th Form students, universities, apprenticeship providers and so on.   

In the summer term the focus for Cohort 10 is on progression routes which includes presentations about Post-16 options from local colleges and a Futures Evening for Cohort 10 parents and carers to enable reflection and discussion of Post-16 choices over the summer holiday. These are followed up in the autumn term (Cohort 11) with one-to-one interviews with college representatives to discuss course options.

During Cohort 10/11 you will have a one-to-one interview with me.  Please do not hesitate to contact me for more information mramsay@honywoodschool.com (CEIAG OFFICER) or pop into my office opposite HU2.