Thurston Sixth students explore opportunities and futures in Beyond Beyton week
Sixth form students at a Suffolk college explored their opportunities and futures in a dedicated careers week.
Run across five days at Thurston Sixth, Beyond Beyton encouraged year 12 students to think about what they want to do when they leave sixth form.
They had the opportunity to ask questions of professionals and explore different post-18 pathways, with many former students invited back.
Students also under took work experience in a wide range of places ranging from the Natural History Museum to West Suffolk Hospital to the Home Office.
Pippa Cooper, deputy head of Thurston Sixth, said: “It has been a really inspiring, informative and exciting week, allowing our students to follow their curiosities, make connections for their futures, inspire them to further their education and further develop their confidence regarding their aspirations.
“We’re so proud of their achievements and have received fantastic feedback from their employers.”
Kate Quilton, journalist, broadcaster and former student kicked off the week, which saw students go into the ‘careers carousel’, with a range of employers welcomed to the school, speaking to sixth formers about their own career paths and current job roles.
SuffolkNews took part in the carousel, speaking to students about the world of local journalism.
Gemma Evans, a Thurston Sixth student, went to the East Anglian Film Archive (EAFA), and was asked to write for their in house magazine.
“I’ve been interested in archiving for quite a while,” she said. “But I chose EAFA for my work experience due to my interest in social history as I love looking at the more personal and smaller-scale aspects of people’s lives that I think are often forgotten about.
“This experience has both solidified my plans for the future as well as shaking them up in quite a major way as I found myself unexpectedly falling in love with the process of digitization.”
Students also attended workshops and talks with universities and colleges, gaining expertise on how to write applications, personal statements and CVs.
Throughout the week, students explored and negotiated current issues such as coercive control, addiction, personal branding and cyber related crimes presented to them in workshops with Suffolk Police, Mental Health in Schools Team, Women’s Aid, Turning Point, The Mix and Terrence Higgins Trust.
