Solihull Sixth Form College is celebrating reaccreditation with the Career Mark Gold Award, following a successful recent assessment.
The College first achieved the Career Mark Bronze Award in 2015 and has had five re-evaluations since then, moving up the ranks to the Silver and then Gold award. The award is a national Quality in Careers standard using the Career Mark approach provided by Complete Careers and demonstrates adherence to the Gatsby Benchmarks.
This award looks at the whole student careers experience including through academic coaching, individual advice and guidance, the curriculum and the wider enrichment options available. The latter includes student societies, the Stretch and Challenge programme for students aiming for the most competitive courses and university destinations, and the Employability Programme for students seeking apprenticeship options, which recently saw learners attend an Employability Fair on campus. Our programme of Specialist Academies, which are enrichments that support students into particular careers such as the Pre-Medical School, were also looked at as part of this accreditation, as was the quality of provision provided directly by the Careers team.
As part of the assessment day, the assessor Gary Longden MBE spoke with Year 12 and Year 13 students to learn first-hand of the support that their receive. In particular, the students were able to provide examples of the individual support and the initiatives in place to provide relevant careers opportunities to support their next steps.
Trevor Irving, Assistant Principal leading on Careers provision at College, commented:
“A lot of hard work has gone into this, so it is gratifying to have been reaccredited with the Gold Award. I congratulate the staff who worked so hard during the assessment day to show off the excellent work they do on a daily basis. This recognition is well deserved. I’m also grateful to the students who gave up their time to talk so enthusiastically about the support they receive.”
24 April 2023