Mount Carmel have arranged a wide range of careers events and activities over the academic year, in partnership with local post-16 providers and organisations.

Year 9 Careers Day
Year 9 pupils took part in a rotation of five sessions provided by external providers. The sessions were

  • Construction which was based on the City Deal, a funding programme which is aimed at transforming Central Lancashire. Students had to team up to design, build and evaluate a bridge.
  • Finance where the students learned about the finance industry by taking part in a mock stock exchange trading floor, deciding in teams when to invest or sell based on information provided, and they learned how worldwide events could have an effect on the market.
  • Media & Journalism with representatives from The Reporters Academy, a non-profit for young people aged 14+ to get involved in the media based at MediaCity UK in Salford, came and gave students an introduction to the many jobs in the media & showed them the basics of camera work.
  • Visitor Economy in which pupils learned about visitor economy and how it relates to employment opportunities across Lancashire. They worked in teams to plan a family fun day using a budget and a list of resources available.
  • Creative & Digital sessions where pupils learned about the world of advertising, and were tasked with coming up with an advert for a product of their team’s choosing, and then create a storyboard for their advert.
    All sessions were provided and delivered by Future U, a collaborative outreach programme funded by the Government to provide skills and opportunities to help supplement the extra-curricular CEIAG provision of students from areas identified as having a gap between attainment and progression.

    St. Mary’s College ‘All STEAM Ahead’ event
    Twenty one students from Year 9 attended St. Mary’s College in Blackburn for an afternoon of workshops in the STEAM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Design, and Maths) delivered by representatives from various Universities.

    UCLan ‘Inspiring You’ Day
    A group of twenty eight Mount Carmel students from Year 10 spent the day at UCLan in Preston for a Law & Criminology taster day. They took part in three sessions:
  • Forensic Psychology
    Students looked at how EvoFIT is used to create sketches of suspects provided by witnesses, and how the sketches can help to identify a suspect. This included an opportunity for students to take on the role of a witness to a crime and use an EvoFIT machine to try and produce an accurate recreation of the suspect.
  • Forensic Anthropology
    Students learned about the methods by which anthropologists can identify skeletal remains. They then worked in groups to identify a murder victim by looking at his skull, pelvic bones, and ribs; before looking at his arm and leg bones for signs of how he may have died.
  • Law
    Students took part in a re-enactment of the trial of Derek Bentley, who was controversially sentenced to be hanged, and looked at the importance of fairness and impartiality in the criminal justice system. This took place in the University’s mock courtroom.

    Staffordshire University Trip
    Over 100 pupils from Year 9 at Mount Carmel attended a raising aspirations day at Staffordshire University. They learned about University life and took part in several sessions, which covered:
  • Using computer programming to fly drones
  • The life cycles of insects
  • The various styles of theatre & drama
  • An ‘exotic zoo’ where students learned about and handled a variety of exotic animals including tarantulas, snakes, stick insects, and baby skunks.

    Accrington & Rossendale College Taster Day
    All Mount Carmel Year 10 students attended ACCROSS College and took part in two sessions of their choice which included:
  • Health & Social Care
  • Childcare
  • Sport
  • Media & Computing
  • Hair & Beauty
  • Brickwork
  • Motor Vehicle
  • Painting & Decorating

    Year 9 Learn To Earn Day
    Young Enterprise ran a day of career-focused activity in which students were asked to pick their dream career, and then looked at pathways into the career, the average salary of the career, and then researched what sort of lifestyle they would be able to budget for with that salary.
    The careers discussed ranged from practical skills based careers such as building or nursing, to academically focused careers such as accounting or law, and even to talent based careers such as professional athletes or musicians.
    The budgeting section asked students to consider what sort of house and car they would want, how often they would go out to eat, what sort of luxury items they would want to prioritise and even how much of their salary they would save.

    Careers Fair
    This event was held at Mount Carmel and all Year 9 and 10 pupils visited the careers fair throughout the day with many of the local
    post-16 providers in attendance to get pupils start planning their future careers and aspirations.
    Representatives were present from Burnley College (including Themis, their apprenticeship programme), St. Mary’s College, Accrington & Rossendale/Nelson & Colne College, BRGS Sixth Form, St. Christopher’s Sixth Form, Training 2000, North Lancs Training Group, Myerscough College, and Accrington Stanley Community Trust.