Careers Plan – Year 9 (2025-26)
YEAR 9 CAREERS AIM: to build aspirations and allow students the opportunity to explore careers opportunities in more detail, including challenging stereotypes.
RATIONALE: This year builds on the work in Year 7 and 8, but recognises that they are approaching a transition point so a focus is on exploring opportunities within different sectors. An important part of this is challenging stereotypes so that we can empower students to make decisions according to their own desires and ambitions, not the expectations of others.
Term 1
- .CAREERS SESSIONS: Stereotypes in careers
In their fortnightly careers sessions, Year 9 students will explore their preconceptions about careers sectors in advance of choosing their GCSE options. They will explore the impact of stereotypes on individual career choices, as well as understanding that a range of careers can exist within a sector beyond the ones they may initially think of.
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Term 2
- .CAREERS SESSIONS: Exploring career sectors
In their fortnightly careers sessions, Year 9 students will have the opportunity to explore the different careers within specific sectors that related to the GCSE subject options on offer. This term, they will talk to two STEM Ambassadors about their jobs, their own GCSE choices, and then how they use their GCSEs within their careers. Speakers are to be confirmed, but in 2024-25, we spoke to a pilot and a games developer. Then we will use one session to explore the wide range of roles within the TV and film industry in Kent.
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Term 3
- .CAREERS SESSIONS: National Apprenticeship Week 2026
Year 9 students will take part in a range of activities in lessons and during progress time where they explore what apprenticeships are and why they might consider this option later in their career.
Continue reading → - FSQ: Careers Student Voice
On computers, students will complete two evaluations. One is of their current knowledge of careers and post-14 and post-16 destinations – that helps us to identify any gaps in their knowledge and to plan sessions that will help in the future. The second is of the careers programme at Wrotham School – we’d like to hear what they’ve enjoyed and what they’d recommend more of for our upcoming Year 9 students next year.
Continue reading → - Launch Work Placement Day – Year 8
Work Placement Day is in Term 6 and offers our students in Year 8, 9 and 10 the opportunity to get real experience of a workplace.
- In Year 8, students accompany a family member to work for a day to shadow them, observing and asking questions. This is intended to build their confidence and encourage open-mindedness when considering what they can learn from the adults in their lives about their strengths and interests.
- In Year 9, students are encouraged to reach out and consider their wider network when either deciding to shadow someone in a different profession or take part in a work experience day.
- In Year 10, students are encouraged and supported to be more independent, reaching out for work placements from the wider community.
In this session, students are introduced to what the day involves and parents/carers are informed of this valuable opportunity for their child.
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Term 4
- .CAREERS SESSIONS: Exploring careers sectors
In their careers sessions, Year 9 students will have the opportunity to explore the different careers within specific sectors that related to the GCSE subject options on offer. In term 4, this includes STEM, languages, IT and digital.
Continue reading → - Careers Fair 2026
Wrotham School’s Careers Fair has gone from strength to strength, building on our relationships with local and national employers, apprenticeship providers, colleges and universities. The fair will feature specialised activities to support our Year 9, 10, 11 and Sixth Form students to make informed decisions about the important transitions they face.
This year, we again welcome our neighbouring school Grange Park School to join our careers fair. Grange Park is a specialist school for children and young people with autism spectrum condition (ASC) from 9-19.
If you would like to find out more information, please visit the ‘Careers Events’ page.
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Term 5
- .CAREERS SESSIONS: Rights in the workplace
Building on their character work on the importance of communication and integrity, Year 9 students explore disability rights, and what support is available if we are treated unfairly at work, including arbitration services like ACAS. These sessions support their PSHE sessions on conflict resolution.
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Term 6
- ASSEMBLY & PROJECT: Ebbsfleet United and Geography
How can football be more sustainable? That’s the questions that Year 9 students will be trying to answer in a project developed by our Geography Department and the education team from Ebbsfleet United FC. Students will have a presentation from Phil at Ebbsfleet about the impact that the top six-tier England and Wales football teams have on the environment – just through team, staff and fan travel to away games. Year 9 will then work in groups to come up with a travel plan for Ebbsfleet United’s whole season that will allow the team to travel more sustainably – with a chance to win a trip to the club for the teams that show the best levels of teamwork, resilience and creativity. The skills in journey planning will help them in the future when they are looking at universities, apprenticeship and job opportunities.
Continue reading → - Employability skills development: Character Day, Wrotham Walk
Students will have the opportunity to develop their character and employability skills through involvement in a variety of activities including Character Day and the Wrotham Walk. Last year’s character day activities included a range of opportunities to explore interests, work with professionals from different creative careers, and build their strengths through confidence and problem-solving.
Through these sessions, they will understand that the character strengths of creativity, teamwork and resilience are also employability skills.
Continue reading → - Work Placement Day/Enterprise Challenge Day
Work Placement Day is in Term 6 and offers our students in Year 8, 9 and 10 the opportunity to get real experience of a workplace. In Term 6, they take part in sessions designed to help them prepare and then reflect on the day. Each year group takes part in progressively independent activities where they become more pro-active in deciding what they would like to personally get out of the experience.
- In Year 8, students accompany a family member to work for a day to shadow them, observing and asking questions. This is intended to build their confidence and encourage open-mindedness when considering what they can learn from the adults in their lives about their strengths and interests.
- In Year 9, students are encouraged to reach out and consider their wider network when either deciding to shadow someone in a different profession or take part in a work experience day.
- In Year 10, students are encouraged and supported to be more independent, reaching out for work placements from the wider community.
Some Year 8 and Year 9 students will be in-school, taking part in an employer-led challenge with the opportunity for a work place visit at a later date.
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