Careers
At Westminster City School, we prepare all our young people for future employment, with a strong careers education programme from the moment they first join us.
An overview of our careers provision can be found on this page. For more information or to support our careers programme, please contact our School's Career Co-ordinator, Ms Baulcomb, on telephone 020 7963 6300 or email: k.baulcomb@wcsch.com.
Careers guidance at Westminster City School
Our unique location, in the heart of London, means we have built strong links with external organisations that benefit our young people. This includes:
- Major businesses and companies, like Deutsche Bank, Google, AT&T and PWC. This allows our young people to gain an incredible insight into how businesses operate, whilst building good professional and personal networks.
- World-leading universities, like Imperial College London and University College London. This enables our young people to attend top lectures, fascinating summer schools and inspiring placements, while building valuable knowledge about future university study.
- Top arts organisations, like VOCES8 and the English National Opera. We frequently host workshops and activities, and our pupils have successfully auditioned for different productions.
For our sixth formers, our active careers programme also includes weekly talks on employment opportunities and the opportunity to join one of our pathway programmes, if interested in law, medicine, policing and criminology, or finance.
Careers Spotlight during lockdown
We didn't let lockdown stop our innovative and engaging careers programme, with weekly online careers activities available for all our young people at that time, including activities during National Careers Week and during National Apprenticeships Week, and employability skills activities during the holidays.
WCS Insights - our online careers programme
During Michaelmas term 2020, our online career programme, WCS Insights, was open to all schools within the United Westminster and Grey Coat Foundation. Aimed at Years 9-13, it enabled young people to hear from experts and professionals in their field, learn more about different career options, and get answers to their questions.
Past WCS Insights events
Engineering Expertise, Wednesday 25 November
How does a civil engineer shape one of Europe's most demanding and controversial transport projects? What is it like working for one of the world's oldest and most prestigious engineering companies?
Our speakers ranged from a Westminster City School Old Boy who now works as a civil engineer on HS2 to an engineer employed by Rolls Royce.
Technical Triumphs, Wednesday 18 November
Looking at careers in technology, our speakers included Raj Paranandi, Co-Head Digital Transformation and Global Head of Change at UBS, and Mike Nakrani, Vice President for Future Mobility Solutions for Europe and South Africa at BP.
Legal Eagles, Wednesday 11 November
How do you start a career in law today? What qualifications, skills and experience do you need to work in law? Where can a career in law take you?
Our speakers included Taiann Fadayomi, who talked about her career as a solicitor and her experience of working at legal firm, Banks and Partners, plus three lawyers from multinational AT&T.
Smart Science, Wednesday 21 October
How can science and technology support the environment? Where can a career in science take you?
Our speakers included Tom Anderson and Dr Jim Scott from technology start-up Grid Edge, which aims to transform energy consumption, and Pamela Bauer, who works for AT&T as a global account director, having previously managed healthcare and pharmaceutical accounts for Pfizer and Eli Lilly.
Business Brains, Wednesday 14 October
What is it really like working in the City?
Our two fascinating speakers from AT&T, a multinational telecommunications company, spoke about their careers in finance and business.
Political Promise, Wednesday 7 October
What is it like working in the Houses of Parliament? How do you start a career in politics? What qualifications do you need to be an MP?
Our online careers event saw answers to these questions, and more, from two inspirational speakers - Westminster City School Old Boy Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North since 2015, and Sir Peter Bottomley, a Conservative MP since 1975 and Father of the House of Commons.
To view a recording of Political Promise on our Vimeo channel, please click here.
Year 7
Our Thinking Ahead programme is ideal for pupils as they transition to secondary school, since it helps pupils explore the value of different curriculum subjects and build understanding of the education system through various interactive workshops.
Pupils imagine an alien has landed on Earth, where they have to explain why we go to school and why we study different subjects.
Learning outcomes for pupils include:
- Awareness of the value of subjects in relation to skills and knowledge beyond school.
- Understanding the educational process and the choices they have.
- Ability to articulate and provide evidence of key skills learned through school subjects.
Year 8
Our Self-awareness programme introduces pupils to the concept of job families. Pupils imagine they are stranded on a deserted island, first identifying the key jobs they need to do to survive and then exploring how these roles evolve to build a functioning society.
Activities completed throughout this programme help pupils develop self-awareness, explore careers and challenge job stereotypes.
Learning outcomes for pupils include:
- Exploring the range of potential career options available and different types of jobs.
- Considering changing patterns and the evolution of careers.
- Examining individual strengths, skills, interests and the link to potential careers.
- Challenging stereotypes.
Year 9
Our Exploration programme helps pupils make informed choices about how to start taking steps towards their future career path, through a combination of interactive activities and the online Career Investigator tool.
Pupils explore the wide number of careers associated with an industry, debating the links between subject choices, skills and careers.
Learning outcomes for pupils include:
- Developing an awareness of the range of careers that exist within a single industry.
- Promoting links between curriculum subjects and different careers.
- Reflecting on their career personalities.
Year 10
Our pupils are introduced to ULAS, an online platform, that allows them to investigate a range of careers options. They build a profile of themselves and record instances where they demonstrated key ‘soft-skills’ required in the workplace.
Pupils are audited according to their careers profile and targeted accordingly with opportunities to hear guest speakers and go on educational visits suited to their career ambitions.
All Year 10 pupils are offered the chance to have an academic or business mentor. These mentors support pupils in preparing for exams and developing revision techniques, as well as starting to work on communication and public speaking skills.
Learning outcomes for pupils include:
- Reflecting on whether their skills match up with their desired career path.
- Compiling a record of skills, then setting targets for those skills that need to be developed.
- Developing good study skills that help with preparation for GCSE examinations.
Year 11
All our pupils sit a psychometric test which measures, amongst other things, their verbal reasoning, numerical skills and memory. It also explores interests and personality type. Results feed into a one-to-one guidance interview with Level 6 trained careers advisors. Following this interview, all pupils are provided with an action plan.
Through practical activities, based on a superhero scenario, our pupils better understand their abilities by exercising key skills and recognising the importance of transferable skills.
Learning outcomes for pupils include:
- Understanding that employers require skills that go beyond qualifications and experience.
- An awareness of the importance of transferable skills from post and present experiences.
- Reflecting on how you can demonstrate employability skills.
- Developing an action plan to develop skills further.
Year 12
Our Year 12 students enjoy hearing from weekly guest speakers, who contribute to our Inspire programme. These speakers, from across the industry spectrum, offer invaluable insights into careers, while letting our students hear about apprenticeships, graduate programmes and school leaver programmes, as well as traditional careers. The aim of our programme is not only to provide practical tips about career pathways but to introduce career options that our students may not previously have thought about.
At the end of Year 12, our students have a guidance interview with a Level 6 trained careers advisor. Results inform applications for their next steps, be it their UCAS application or alternative post 18+ pathways.
There are also be subject-specific opportunities, and students are encouraged to sign up to a range of visits and programmes that include workplace visits and exercises and our School's own innovative pathways programmes.
All in Year 12 are offered the chance to have an academic or business mentor. These mentors support students in CV writing, preparing for job interviews and formulating revision programmes.
Year 13
All our Year 13 students attend our Westminster City School careers fair.
Our students are also guided through the UCAS process and provided with the opportunity for careers workshops. These workshops enable them to create a LinkedIn profile, to develop their interview techniques and to refine their CV.
