National Careers Week 2023

We are celebrating National Careers Week (6-11 March) across all subjects this week here at Co-op Academy Swinton and our focus is ‘Careers across the Curriculum’.
English
Today our Year 11 English students were looking at the careers of Emma Watson and Stephen Fry and how their work and backgrounds link to English. The students then wrote about their own ambitions and wrote speeches, in practise for their forthcoming exams. The speeches outlined their ambitions for the next ten years. The excellent extracts here are from Joleen Diamond, Harrison Little, Olivia Mundy and Naomi Adewoyin.
We were also very lucky to be hosting the second session of our Raising Aspirations Project with Salford Foundation. Year 8 and year 9 students are working with a local business, BNY Mellon, looking at what they need to consider in order to be successful in the future.
Our Careers Advisor, Mr Prendergast, is also available in our academy on a Monday and Tuesday to guide students. Today he was working with Year 11 students to help them decide on their options for future courses at college.
MFL
Our work around National Careers Week in Modern Foreign Languages has been looking at careers where being able to speak another language is a major benefit.
In each class throughout the week a different example is being used of someone who has been very successful in their chosen career. Today in French and Spanish we have studied Simon and Anna whose careers were only possible due to their language skills. In Mandarin students have looked at where the study of Mandarin can lead to, such as studying the language at University.
You can watch the videos we have studied today at:
Spanish: https://icould.com/stories/simon-w/
French: https://icould.com/stories/anna-s/
Mandarin: https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2023/00058/ba-chinese-studies/
Maths
In Maths Year 11 have been studying bearings, in preparation for their GCSE exams this Summer. Bearings and other aspects of geometry are important in a wide range of careers, for example: Construction Worker, Mathematics Teacher, Interior Designer, CAD Engineer, Plumber, Animator, Cartographer and Fashion Designer
Humanities
Our Humanities faculty worked on a variety of links to careers as part of Careers Week. In Geography, Year 9 have been learning about the urban heat island effect and were looking at the work of a solar physicist, explaining why the walkie-talkie building needed re-designing.
Earlier in the week Year 9 looked at employment opportunities in Nigeria, take a look at this wonderful example from Year 9 student, Kane Hallett.
In History, we’ve been studying how history links to a variety of different careers. Using the cold war as an inspiration, students have studied the links and career opportunities in the civil service and intelligence services.
And in RS we have a whole section of the room dedicated to famous people who have studies RS linked degrees to emphasis the importance of the subject.
Science
As part of Careers Week our Science faculty have been studying different types of STEM careers and how they link to their topics. Mr Jones has been using examples from the following, very informative website: My Path Careers Education
Dr Taylor focused on the work of a midwife whilst studying reproduction. Examples of his slides and some students work is attached. The students were discussing which types of careers linked to STEM.
Art
Our students in art have been working hard this week too. Year 8 have been designing a print to apply to their wallpaper designs. Inspired by under the sea for ‘Swinton Wallpaper Company’ and have been studying different careers linked to their schemes.
Year 11 have studied a variety of different artists and sculptors. These famous and very established artists have built up successful careers in their chosen fields, some fabulous examples from Dlyar Omar and Ellie Southern are shown here;