With the modern workplace as competitive and dynamic as it is, it is essential that the school provides good and varied careers advice tailored to the needs of each student.
NLCS Futures is our through-school approach to helping students explore the world, understand themselves, and make confident choices about what comes next. Careers is a core strand of that work, bringing together practical guidance, real-world encounters, and the skills that help our students thrive, whatever path they choose.
Our careers programme:
What it means: Building self-awareness, curiosity and a sense of what is possible.
You’ll experience:
- Early exploration of interests, strengths and skills
- Broad exposure to industries and roles, without pressure to “decide” too soon
- Subject-to-world links (how learning maps to real problems and professions)
Signature initiatives:
Careers Kitchens: small-group conversations that open windows into different careers with Parents, ONLs and Staff members offering honest stories about different routes and real working lives
Ideas Hub experiences: co-curricular conversations, problem-solving, trial and error, Eureka Schools Partnerships
Examples:
Year 9: transferable skills seminar
Year 10: structured research into roles and routes, building a personal record of interests
What it means: Turning ideas into informed choices and gaining real experiences.
You’ll experience:
- Guidance at key decision points (subject choices, post-16, post-18)
- Encounters with professionals that help students understand day-to-day reality
- Opportunities that make choices feel grounded
Signature initiatives:
Careers Convention: keynote, expert panels, networking and careers stands
Degree apprenticeships guidance: understanding routes and what employers look for
Workplace experiences and work experience: seeing workplace culture and setting expectations
Examples:
Year 10: preparation ahead of Sixth Form choices, CV foundations, pathway awareness
Year 11: post-16 decision support, interview/application skill-building, work experience
Year 12: deeper pathway planning, leadership opportunities, application readiness
What it means: Becoming competitive and confident in applications, interviews and self-presentation.
You’ll experience:
- Strong application skills building (CVs, interviews, personal statements, networking)
- Labour market awareness (what’s changing and what skills matter)
- Confidence in communicating strengths and building a track record to develop your personal story
Signature initiatives:
Surge Start-up Academy: building an entrepreneurial mindset in collaboration with founders and industry experts
AI and digital capability: using technology with judgement and fluency
Student leadership: responsibility roles, making a meaningful contribution whilst building transferable skills
Examples:
Year 11: sharpening applications and seeing the process from an interviewer’s perspective
Year 12: interview workshops, leadership posts, richer employer engagement
Year 13: post-18 decision support across routes, advanced applications and next-step readiness
