Careers fair at academy continues to grow

The annual careers fair was held in two halls at St George’s Academy on Thursday March 6 and was open to students in Years 9 to 11 from the Sleaford and Ruskington campuses, as well as from Carre’s Grammar School and Kesteven and Sleaford High School, plus Sleaford Joint Sixth Form students.

There was even a quiet session for students with special educational needs and an evening session where parents could attend with students.

Employers and organisations offering apprenticeships ranged from Currys, SHD and Bakkavor, while education providers included Durham, Essex and Leicester Universities, as well as Boston United FC, Boston, Lincoln and Grantham Colleges.

There were also representatives from the armed forces, police, fire and ambulance services and NHS hospitals.

Head of Careers, Sophie Macdonald, said new visitors included the uniformed services college, PGL from Caythorpe and the F1 Group which specialises in internet security.

She said: “There has been a lot of really good engagement from employers and universities from all over the country. Essex and Durham Universities are new visitors too.”

Some of the exhibitors were represented by former St George’s students, such as operating theatre practitioner Sara Daffey, and Haydn Kay of Siemens Energy, based at Lincoln, who was kept busy fielding questions from a lot of interested students during the day.

His colleague Lizzie Still commented: “We’ve had a lot of sixth formers interested as we also do degree apprenticeships which could leave you student debt-free while getting five years’ experience on the job.”

Sara Daffey said she had been a student at St George’s from 2009-2016. “I have had girls come up to me saying they would like to be an operating theatre practitioner like me,” she said.

“It is all really positive and good to give up to date information to enable students to make informed choices,” said Ms Macdonald, thanking all those who attended.