National Careers Week 2022

This year's National Careers Week was a great success at St Mary’s with every student having access to a range of Careers activities across the curriculum, and also several inspirational guest speakers at various House assemblies each day.

It was wonderful to welcome back to school former Head Girl (2016-2017), Jordanne, and Deputy Head Girl (2016-2017), Bilquees, who delivered separate assemblies on their career pathways since leaving our school.

Since leaving our school in 2017, Jordanne studied ‘Inclusive Theatre’ at the Chicken Shed Theatre Company and is now studying Educational Studies at Greenwich University. Jordanne does voluntary work each Monday at our school, boosting students’ confidence through workshops in ‘Emotional Literacy through Drama’.

Bilquees, who is just about to graduate as a fully-qualified Chartered Accountant, was able to share with our students a number of key ‘dos and don’ts’ regarding career progression in the world of work.

On two mornings, we were delighted to welcome former Croydon schoolboy, Kwame, who described his inspirational ongoing journey from St Joseph’s College to becoming a fully-qualified barrister. Next term, Kwame will be delivering ‘Bar School’ training sessions for students in Years 9 – 11 at our school.

In addition, we were also pleased to welcome the National Citizenship Service (NCS) to speak with students in Year 11. Involvement with NCS projects has been a popular choice for our students in the summer after they leave our school as they consider how they could broaden their horizons and skills for life beyond GCSEs.