Year 11 pupils were given a taste of their future careers during a visit to Blackpool and The Fylde College (B&FC).
The 100 pupils from Aspire Academy in Blackpool received a tour of the B&FC facilities and chose the curriculum areas they wanted to learn more about – from engineering to performing arts and everything in between.
They were then given a small taste of some of the skills they would learn if they decided to enrol for specific B&FC courses – and how that knowledge translates into jobs in industry.
Jane Mahon, Partnerships and Careers Manager at B&FC, said: “We cover a wide range of subjects at the College and many Year 11 pupils will currently be deciding what they would like to do as a career when they leave school.
“With that in mind we thought this would be a great opportunity to engage with the students from Aspire Academy and offer them a taster of some of our Ofsted-outstanding programmes which prepare them for rewarding careers in industry.”
The interactive event saw pupils learning about pneumatics in Engineering’s robotics room, basic programming skills in Computing, motoring diagnostics in Automotive and symptom diagnosis with staff from Society, Health and Social Care. They also took part in a food tasting session with Catering staff, team-building with Sport and Public Services and learnt acting techniques with Performing Arts.
Jane added: “We asked students what subjects they were interested in and tried to put them forward for programmes which fit those interests.
“They were then able to go back to school and discuss what they had experienced and how it helped shape what they wanted to do as a career.”
Simon Blackwell, Key Stage 4 Lead at Aspire Academy, added: “The feedback from the students has been very positive and I hope it has helped them confirm some of the thoughts they had, and ignite others. The tutors who came commented on how it was great for them to see such a variety of activities and watch their form groups interact in the sessions.”
B&FC delivers hundreds of career-focussed further education programmes, alongside more than 60 degrees accredited by long-standing partner Lancaster University, ranked in the top 10 of universities in the UK.
