Curriculum

This ensures that a strong sense of pride is developed within a Career Academy group, all focused on raising the achievement and aspirations of everyone involved.Career Academy students follow a rigorous two-year programme alongside a curriculum equivalent to at least three A levels, enabling students to progress to higher education or the world of work. Within this framework, the exact content of the programme of study is decided locally, in consultation with Career Academies UK staff. It can include vocational qualifications such as BTEC or Applied A levels, as well as the Advanced Diploma, or a combination of these, depending on local need. Importantly, these all feature in the National Qualifications Framework and so are recognised for entrance to university or employment.

We currently endorse a number of Career Academy pathways. Examples include Finance, Information Technology, Marketing & Communications, Media, and Engineering. In each case (with the exception of Engineering), the curriculum is a deliberate combination of two-thirds broad based study and one-third theme-specific units (eg, Finance, IT, Marketing). This ensures students can explore an area of interest while being exposed to a wide range of education and career possibilities.

The aim of any Career Academy programme is to provide a relatively broad and rounded education for a young person studying for Level 3 qualifications, rather than training for any specific career or business sector. As well as excellent subject knowledge, Career Academies equip students with valuable life skills. Employability training forms a key part of the curriculum offer.

Students follow their programme of study with its various curriculum enhancements, such as visiting speakers, mentoring by employee volunteers, six-week paid internships, and employer-led seminars. This ensures that a strong sense of pride is developed within a Career Academy group, all focused on raising the achievement and aspirations of everyone involved.

The Career Academy programme is currently being matched to BTEC Level 3 WorkSkills by Edexcel. This gives students the opportunity to gain an additional qualification.

The internship element of the programme has been fully matched to a BTEC Level 3 Award in WorkSkills, evidenced by the existing internship logbook for students. This short course, equivalent to 60 Guided Learning Hours is equivalent to 0.4 of an AS level at Grade C. This programme is being piloted in existing Career Academies over the Summer internship period in 2011 and available for all centres who wish to follow this option from the 2011-12 academic year. For more information on Workskills click here.