Each year, Athena School hosts a careers week for our pupils, but this year it had a little bit of a twist. Under normal circumstances, colleges, apprenticeship providers and careers leaders would be invited to Athena in order to speak directly with our pupils. However, this year, things were quite a bit different. But that doesn't mean that we weren't able to find a way around it! So with social distancing and lockdown, how did we make it happen? You guessed it: A virtual careers event!

Despite things being delivered in a very different way to what we are used to, we were able to host more events and speakers than ever before. We had a jam packed timetable of industry specific zoom lectures, an introduction to STEM, a CV and interview skills workshop, an introduction to apprenticeships, and much more! Members of staff who had worked in other industries, before education, also put together their own subject specific displays, and the entire school was kitted out in careers information.

We were fortunate to hear from speakers from all sorts of different lines of work. Some of these included the jewellery making industry, catering and becoming a chef, nursing, the Armed Forces, paramedics, veterinary nursing and policing. Many of our pupils, from all around the school, not just KS4, involved themselves in these zoom calls. They all listened with respect and asked some very thoughtful questions. We were also looking at post-18 education, as well post-16 education, such as degrees, and many of out pupils expressed interest in this.

As you can see, many of our pupils (and staff!) enjoyed some immersive learning, getting dressed up in career specific clothing!

Pilot Careers are hosting a live web event from Friday 6th November to Saturday 7th November 2020. Pupils are encouraged to register to join in on a virtual weekend of Keynotes speakers, meeting and networking with industry professionals, and bringing essential information to those who are keen in pursuing a career as a pilot.

The event is completely free and takes you through all the necessary information and routes you need in order to become a pilot. 

The information below is taken from the Pilot Careers Live Event webpage:

Who should attend Europe’s biggest Pilot Careers events?

The event is FREE for anyone to attend and is essential for:

• School or college graduates looking for the next step
• Anyone with an ambition to become a professional pilot
• Anyone interested in commercial helicopter flying career
• School or college advisors
• Anyone considering making a career change to avaiation

At Pilot Careers Live – The Virtual Edition you can meet:

• Leading pilot training academies from the UK, mainland Europe, USA and beyond
• Military air forces including the RAF, Army Air Corps and Fleet Air Arm
• Universities
• Pilots
• Former students
• Airlines

The website details what brilliant things you will get out of attending the careers event. If you are seriously considering a career in aviation, make sure you check this out!

2020 has held a mirror up to the world and forced many to see the reality of racism in all its guises. From Black people dying disproportionately in the pandemic, to the horrific murder of George Floyd and no justice for Breonna Taylor – the 26-year-old emergency medical worker killed by police in her own home. #BlackLivesMatter protests around the world sparked a commitment among many individuals and organisations to educate themselves about Black history, heritage and culture – as part of understanding racism and standing in solidarity against it.

Crucially, this year’s Black History Month is a time to shine a light on our shared British history and tell the whole story honestly and truthfully, to decolonise and reclaim history, and tell stories from the perspective of all people – not just the rich white men in power. The felling of contentious statues and monuments is just the start, now it’s time to ask communities how colonial objects and symbols are used to tell the true story of history.

Black History Month 2020 is also a time to look forward and celebrate the here and now – and the future possibilities. In years gone by, October has been the only time of year when the UK talks about the achievements of Black people in Britain. Hopefully, the events of 2020 will be a catalyst for Black history to be shared much more widely – in museums, galleries, schools, universities, public spaces and communities. 

Black History Month 2020 is a time for people to come together and hopefully learn lessons for the present and the future. It’s a time to honour the commitment to learning and standing united against racism. It’s a time to reclaim history and re-imagine how our shared history will be told in the future.

To celebrate Black History Month in our school, each classroom has created a display along with corridor displays, and children will be focussing on different parts of black history and learning about current movements. Black History Month 2020 is a time to teach our children to come together and hopefully learn lessons for the present and the future. It’s a time to honour the commitment to learning and standing united against racism. It’s a time to reclaim history and re-imagine how our shared history will be told in the future!!

This term, year 10 have been beginning our Key Stage four studies... Biology!

Our first lesson was exploring cell structure and Mrs P was blown away by all the knowledge on cell structures and their functions that we could recall from KS3. We learnt about ribosomes and mitochondria (cell structures that are not studied at KS3), practiced our scientific drawing technique and then used light microscopes to look at specimens of plant cells and a range of animal cells. We worked with our lab partners to produce scientific drawings of what we could see and some of even us had a go at taking pictures of how in focus we managed to get our specimen images. We rounded our lesson off by having a go at an exam style question – it wasn’t as scary as we thought it would be! Now we can: explain what a microscope does; identify different cell structures and describe their functions; produce and label scientific drawings.

Upcoming Open Event

Music & Events // Music Tech // Games & Computing // Media & Design 

We are now taking bookings for our upcoming event on 27/10/20 and places can be booked here: https://www.accesscreative.ac.uk/open-events 

Following our COVID safety regulations, we will have limited capacity at our Open Day events, so booking is essential!

Please share with students who have a passion for all things creative!

Stay Safe, Stay Creative!

"We are excited to invite your students and staff to take part in the next National Skills Day on 7th October – it’s going to be great fun whilst building confidence and an important connection for everyone at this time. It’s a great chance for everyone to show they have skills – wherever they are.

The details to share are in the poster graphic, designed to work nicely on social media – we know if you’ve enjoyed Careers Week you’re all going to love National Skills Days.

We look forward to seeing all the Skills your teachers, students and parents have! See you out there on the 7th October!"

Follow NCW on twitter @NCWSkillsDays or check out ncw2020.co.uk for more information.