College Career Mark Promoted to Platinum Award

Solihull Sixth Form College is celebrating accreditation with the Career Mark Platinum 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 Gold awards, before achieving the top Platinum award this year. 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 and personal development, 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 Road Map to Employment programme for students seeking apprenticeship options, which recently saw learners attend an Employability Fair on campus. Our programme of specialist enrichments, which 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 Ron James 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.

The report concluded:

"It is clear that CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice, and Guidance) is continuing to play an important role at Solihull Sixth Form College and that this is making a positive impact on learners. The College has held the award for some time and is continuing to develop and further improve its provision."

Trevor Irving, Assistant Principal leading on Careers provision at College, commented:

"Achieving the Platinum Career Mark accreditation is a testament to the hard work and dedication our staff put in on a daily basis. This recognition is well deserved and I am so grateful to the young people who gave up their time on the assessment day to talk so enthusiastically about the support they receive."

13 June 2025