This section is full of information on how to get support in making your next steps in your education or career pathway.
What are GCSE’s
General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) are qualification that are part of the national curriculum for students in Years 10-11 (aged 14-16).
GCSEs are graded 1-9 with 9 being the top mark and a 4 as a standard pass. Find out how GCSE Grades work from the BBC.
You can normally take around 9 subjects and get to choose what GCSEs you want to study for in Year 9. Maths, English and Science are the core subjects that everyone must take at GCSE in England and Wales. Science may be split into the three separate sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) or into two Combined Science GCSEs. Some schools may make other subjects compulsory, so check with your teachers to find out what rules your school has. The BBC has another page to help you with this GCSE options: Everything you need to know about choosing your GCSE subjects – BBC Bitesize.
Getting a grade 4 or above in English and Maths is very important. This gives you enough skills for normal adult life tasks like budgeting, filling in forms, reading instruction manuals and calculating bills. It is also a requirement for most most courses that you may want to go on to after you have finished Year 11.
With a grade 4 and above in Maths and English you will have a much greater number of opportunities open to you. Some sixth forms and most colleges offer a range of Maths and English courses for students who need to retake one or both of these subjects after 16. Whether you go into an apprenticeship, sixth form or college you will need to continue to study Maths and English alongside what else you are doing until you are 18 or achieve a grade 4.
There is lots of information on Careerpilot : Get information : GCSEs : Choosing your GCSEs to help you more.
Why I need to make a decision
You can leave school on the last Friday in June if you’ll be 16 by the end of the summer holidays but you are still required to remain in education or training until your 18th birthday. Staying longer in education or training makes sure everyone gets the same chance to achieve in whatever you go on to do – whether it is a job or further study. There are lots of options available to you and it should be appropriate to your needs.
- You can stay in full-time education in school, sixth-form or college
- An apprenticeship can support you to start learning and earning straight away (or a traineeship will start you on your apprenticeship journey)
- You can also start working or volunteering if you combine this with part-time education or training.
Wiltshire Council checks to make sure you have a suitable option of learning and will support you if you need some help in finding education employment or training, see the support tab for more details.
When you come to the end of Year 11 we need to know what you are going on to study in September. You can tell us what you are doing around Education and Employment which will help us to support you better.
Careers related resources
You should have access to a careers adviser at school. It is very important that you make an appointment to discuss your plans with your careers adviser even if you do not know what your chosen career is (most young people don’t).
Deciding on what you want to do for work can be confusing, here are some more resources to help you explore your career options.
BBC Bitesize Careers
Whether you’re deciding what to study, taking your exams, planning a career, or just curious, Bitesize Careers explains the world of work, with advice from people who’ve found the right path for them.
Website: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/careers
Career Pilot
Plan your study and work – your choices at 14, 16 and 18, routes to different qualifications and job sectors, and career tools to help you decide.
Website: www.careerpilot.org.uk/
Careers Explorer
If you are trying to decide which career is right for you or thinking about changing career, Careers Explorer is packed full of useful information.
You can find out about a wide range of careers and, as the information is centred on Wiltshire, you can use Careers Explorer to find local vacancies, courses and apprenticeships.
Website: swlep.co.uk/programmes-swlep/careers-hub/careers-explorer
icould
Search for career ideas, advice and tips. Start thinking about your career & find out what you’re like and what you could do.
Website: icould.com
National Careers Service
The National Careers Service provides information, advice and guidance to help young people make decisions on learning, training and work.
Website: nationalcareers.service.gov.uk
Youth Employment UK – Skills and Careers Hub
Free resources, advice and guidance, designed with input from young people offering practical tools to support young people through education, transition into employment and beyond.
Website: www.youthemployment.org.uk/careers-hub/
Start
Careers guidance for young people in schools and colleges. Information, advice and opportunities that will help shape your future, regardless of who or where you are.
Website – careers.startprofile.com
How much do careers pay?
Careerometer can be used to explore and compare key information about occupations, help you learn about different occupations and identify potential careers. It provides access to a selection of UK headline data relating to pay, weekly hours of work and future employment prospects for different occupations, as well as description of the occupation.
Simply type in the title of the job you are interested in and the widget provides a series of options from which you can select the most relevant to you. You can then look up another two occupations and compare. You can also select ‘display the UK average’ and compare the information with the occupation you have selected.
Work Experience
You will be given the opportunity to do work experience at school, usually in year 10 and it will be organised by your school. They will help you find a one or two week placement. Sometimes you may have to seek out a placement yourself. This is good practice for applying for jobs. Lots of different employers offer work placements to students. Sometimes the work experience is in a workplace, sometimes it is online, and sometimes it will be partly online with some time in the workplace. This is sometimes called blended work experience.
Visit our Work Experience page.