National Careers Week is a celebration of the very best of careers guidance and employment opportunities available across the UK – and it proved to be another incredibly busy, inspiring and fulfilling 5 days for the whole school.

The series of mock interviews for Years 8 and 10 proved to be a fantastic learning experience, to not only find out what a real interview feels like but also to better understand their potential future direction. 375 students took part, each writing a personal statement which formed the basis of their 10 minute interview. In total, we had 28 interviewers who came from a wide range of careers – from architect to corporate lawyer; from police sergeant to TV producer; from engineer to community officer.  We were particularly delighted to see the return of 6 past students who had volunteered to act as interviewers. 

There was also one Secretary of State for Education! Damian Hinds returned to participate not only in a Year 10 assembly but also as interviewer.  He grilled Head Boy Rory Robert Taylor who thought he might like to go into politics himself – keep an eye on Prime Minister Questions in 30 years time!

Mr Hinds also took time to lead an assembly where he not only provided information on his own political career but also bravely answered questions put to him such as:

> Do you want to be the Prime Minister?

> Do you think we should leave the EU?

> Do you think we have a good education system?

It was a lively and very entertaining Q&A session and it was refreshing to see a key government figure answering some very pertinent questions! 

An excellent conclusion to the week -- we can’t wait for NCW20!