Careers Education
At Harris Academy Greenwich, our Personal Development vision is simple: we want our students to thrive on the other side of the door - confident, capable, and fully prepared for the world that awaits them once they’ve secured great Academic outcomes.
Own Your Future
We believe all students deserve a careers curriculum, experiences, encounters, and personalised guidance that empower them to make informed and ambitious decisions about their next steps.
They are the ones that will Own their Future.
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Our Commitment
In line with the Baker Clause, we ensure that every student is exposed to the full range of pathways available - academic, vocational, apprenticeships, university routes, and opportunities in the workplace. Every young person at Harris Academy Greenwich will leave with clarity about the choices ahead of them.
Our approach is shaped by the CDI Framework (2021), which emphasises the knowledge, skills, and agency required to pursue positive careers - careers that are personally fulfilling, socially meaningful, and able to support a good standard of living. A “positive career” will look different for every student, and we believe in helping each individual define and pursue their own version.
Careers in the Curriculum
We believe the strongest careers provision is one that is fully integrated into our broad and balanced curriculum. Across subjects, teachers embed opportunities for students to see how their learning connects to the real world and future possibilities.
Examples include:
Science:
In Science, careers education is embedded through regular “career spotlight” activities that introduce students to a wide range of roles across biology, chemistry and physics. Each half term, students explore different careers linked directly to their current topics, from aerospace engineering and climate science to genomics and toxicology.
Lessons highlight what professionals do day-to-day, the skills required—such as problem-solving, analytical thinking and teamwork—and the pathways needed to access these careers, including GCSEs, A Levels, university routes and apprenticeships.
For example, when studying genetics, students learn about clinical scientists in genomics and how they analyse DNA to diagnose disease, while topics on materials and energy link to roles such as chemical and civil engineers. This consistent exposure helps students understand the real-world application of scientific knowledge and broadens their awareness of the diverse and evolving opportunities within STEM.
Maths:
In Mathematics, careers education is embedded through regular “career spotlight” activities that demonstrate how mathematical skills underpin a wide range of professions. Students explore diverse pathways including roles such as economists, actuarial analysts, cryptography analysts and epidemiologists, helping them to see the relevance of maths beyond the classroom.
Lessons make explicit links between curriculum topics and real-world applications. For example, when studying statistics, students learn how epidemiologists use data to track and predict the spread of diseases, while financial mathematics is linked to careers such as mortgage advisors and actuarial analysts who use probability and risk to inform decision-making.
Students also develop an understanding of the skills required in these careers, including problem-solving, logical reasoning, data analysis and communication, as well as the pathways into them through GCSEs, A Levels, apprenticeships and university routes. This approach helps students recognise the importance of mathematics in a wide range of industries, from finance and technology to healthcare and government.
Art:
In Art, careers education is embedded through creative industry “career spotlight” activities that showcase the wide range of pathways available within the arts, media and creative technologies. Students explore roles such as make-up and prosthetics artists, linking their classroom learning directly to careers in film, theatre, fashion and digital media.
Lessons explicitly connect artistic skills to real-world applications. For example, when developing drawing, design and material techniques, students learn how make-up and prosthetics artists use these skills to create character designs, sculpt prosthetics and work with lighting and special effects to achieve realistic outcomes for film and performance.
Students also gain insight into the practical pathways into creative careers, including building portfolios, gaining work experience, and pursuing routes through apprenticeships, college courses or university study in areas such as media make-up and design. This approach helps students understand the breadth of opportunities in the creative sector and the transferable skills developed through Art, including creativity, attention to detail and collaboration.
English:
In English, careers education is embedded through creative “career spotlight” activities that highlight the wide range of pathways linked to communication, storytelling and the creative industries. Students explore careers such as theme park story creators, scriptwriters and content designers, helping them understand how strong literacy skills underpin many exciting and dynamic roles.
Lessons make explicit links between the curriculum and real-world applications. For example, when studying narrative writing and character development, students learn how professionals create engaging stories for theme parks, including developing backstories for rides, writing scripts for performances and designing immersive experiences for audiences.
Students also develop an understanding of the key skills required for these careers, including creativity, research, communication and collaboration, as well as the routes into them through GCSEs, A Levels and degrees in English, creative writing and media. This approach helps students recognise the value of English in a wide range of industries, from entertainment and media to marketing and design.
Our goal is for every student to leave Harris Academy Greenwich with ambitious destinations and a clear understanding of the dynamic and evolving world of work.
Personalised Guidance
Alongside the careers curriculum, every student receives individual careers guidance from a qualified careers adviser throughout their time with us. These conversations help students explore options, match their strengths to pathways, and make purposeful decisions at key transition points.
If you would like to book a careers meeting, please contact:
Abigail Brown A.Brown1@harrisgreenwich.org.uk
Exploring Careers Independently
All students have access to Unifrog, a powerful platform that supports exploration of careers, apprenticeship pathways, university courses, and labour market information. We encourage students to use Unifrog to compare post-16 and post-18 options and make decisions grounded in up-to-date data. All work experience needs to be logged on Unifrog using their placements tool; all students have a Unifrog account set up with their school email account with a link to the website.
