Pupils in Year 8 had a glimpse into their future selves in special Career sessions today. The sessions were an early introduction to the bespoke careers support provided by Colfe’s, led by Head of Careers Debra Bean, and the first time in school that pupils will consider their futures in a formal way.
The aim is to encourage pupils to begin thinking in broad terms about their future and discovering how concrete steps now can lead to the lifestyles they might want in the future. The sessions began with a series of “Would you rather” questions, breaking down the concept of ‘who am I and who do I want to be’ into more easily digestible segments. Pupils worked in pairs to determine whether, for example, they would rather travel around the world or work in one place, live in a city or outside, or work alone or with lots of other people. The questions provoked plenty of discussion, especially on the issue of whether they would prefer to have a high-paying job they hate, or a low-paying job they love, with several pupils changing their minds after lively group discussions about the pros and cons of working 12 hours a day in a lucrative but unfulfilling job.
The Year 8s were then tasked with thinking about their future selves at age 19, 25 or 35 and creating their own Vision Boards based on their goals. The sessions finished with each pupil thinking about and deciding on a single step they can take now to help reach their visions.
Head of Careers, Debra Bean, said: “For 12 and 13-year-olds, their future adult selves are often an abstract concept, so these sessions provide a practical way of thinking about what will be important in their future lives. We start by thinking broadly about what kind of life they want to have, then ask them to come up with some tangible, measurable actions that will help them to achieve their aims. This could be getting a great set of GCSEs, going to university or training in a particular profession. The aim is always to make career sessions fun, but with a serious aim of working out how to achieve some of your dreams.
“It is brilliant to hear some of the ideas emerging, like being a Lawyer with a Bakery business or an Olympic skateboarder, or a tech entrepreneur.”
Feedback from pupils was full of enthusiasm for the event:
Edward: “It was really helpful. I discovered a lot I hadn’t known before, and made me think about my future and how to get there.”
Louis: “Doing the questions and the vision board was very useful as it gave me a visible plan to inspire me.”
Esma: “The session has helped us have a vision of what we might do in the future, which is helpful especially if you don’t have a clear plan yet.”
