Careers at Digitech studio school

We take students future career aspirations very seriously at Digitech and therefore Careers and employability is woven into the fabric of all that we do and underpinned by the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks. It is led by a qualified Careers leader and advisor jane.morgan@clf.uk and overseen by a member of the SLT team. It is an important item on the agenda at the academy council meetings.

From the moment they enter in Year 10 students will start on a journey of preparing for their future. The careers programme at Digitech includes input from many organisations, employers and providers where each interaction helps to inform and shape students career decisions. Emphasis is placed on students gaining key transferable skills which will enable them to be successful in the world of work.

Our objective is that all students leave Digitech with an aspirational and appropriate pathway that will lead them to be successful.

Envision

In Year 10 we run a youth social action programme called Envision. This 12-week programme runs twice each year and gives 24 students the opportunity to make a difference in their school community whilst also learning and growing in key skills and having mentorship from a local business. This year we are partnering with Motability; the students get to visit the business premises on 3 occasions.

Skills and enterprise week

In Year 10 students will take part in our Skills and Enterprise Week – a week of a collapsed timetable filled with guest speakers from industry and education, bespoke workshops and skills building activities.

Work experience

Work experience is launched in the first term of Year 10 to give students plenty of time to find a placement that will connect with their future plans. As connection with industry is a key part of our ethos, we offer 2 opportunities for work experience. In July we have our allocated week (6^th – 10^th July 2026) where every student is encouraged to find a placement that is suitable for them. We are also offering the opportunity for a second placement at any point during Year 10, providing that the placement is within the industries that we represent here at Digitech (Digital, Technology, Creative and media). Our hope, with this flexible approach, is that students can find placements that are meaningful and will add value to their career learning journey. We have some guidelines for placements here:

Work Experience FAQs and Guidelines

Once a placement is found forms will need to be completed by parents/carers and the employer: Students cannot go out on placement without all the relevant forms completed.

There is another opportunity for work experience in Year 12 – this is something that can be taken at any point from Term 3 of Year 12 through to Term 2 of Year 13. Our hope with this flexible approach is that each student can secure a placement that will be valuable and beneficial as they think about their future career plans. For more information on work experience, please contact jane.morgan@clf.uk or martine.thomas@clf.uk

Digitech plus

Each student at Digitech will be given bespoke careers lessons within the Digitech plus programme. Each unit will consist of relevant, helpful and informative lessons to aid students on their pathway towards success.

Futures week

Year 12 will take part in Futures Week. This takes place in June (22^nd – 26^th) when students start thinking about their plans post Digitech. The week consists of university visits, apprenticeship workshops, financial planning with HSBC, employer and Higher Education guest speakers as well as essential life skills such a safe driving.

Assemblies and visits

We regularly put on assemblies for our students to hear from Further Education, Higher Education and Apprenticeship providers. We offer many opportunities for our students to go out on trips both to employers, colleges / universities as well as citywide schools’ events such as the Apprenticeship Show and GCSE Boost.

Employer partnerships

We are in the processing of building some key partnerships with employers both local and national to ensure that all students gain industry links throughout their time here at Digitech. Some of the partnerships we have are Amazon, Cowi, Distiller studio, Sheild Services Group, Warmley Waiting rooms.

Year 11 and year 13 – Key decision times

Year 11 and Year 13 are decision points in the student’s time here at Digitech. Each student will be given a 1:1 appointment with Jane Morgan our careers lead to discuss future plans, this will result in an action plan of achievable steps to help each student on their journey. Jane is also available to support students with CV writing, and College / 6th form / apprenticeship applications.

UCAS

We ensure that each student in post 16 has the opportunity to consider university as a viable option. To help with this we arrange university visits, UCAS workshops and finance talks. Our careers lead is also on hand to help at every stage of the application process.