Page 30 - Old Ratcliffian Magazine 2019

CAREERS & MENTORING

With the appointment of a new Head of Careers, Kate Grace, at the beginning of the academic
COUNCIL Ratcliffe College is fortunate to have a wealth of professions represented amongst its alumni,
year, the College is keen to strengthen its careers programme by increasing opportunities for
students to undertake work experience, as well as giving them access to information about a
wide range of career paths and the necessary skills that today’s employers value in the workplace.

and the Ratcliffi an Association is working closely with Kate to revive its database of ORs who are
willing to support current students in a variety of forms, including:

» Offering a work experience opportunity that could be advertised to students.
» Providing a contact that could be approached regarding work experience opportunities.
» Delivering an industry or careers-based talk within our INSPIRE programme.
» Taking part in student mock interviews.
» Meeting with a focused group of Sixth Form students to offer guidance on their chosen
career pathways.
» Mentoring a young OR in their chosen career path.

Similarly, the Association would like to develop its bank of mentors, to easily identify those ORs that can be called upon to offer advice or
support to young ORs requiring careers guidance. We are, therefore, keen to hear from any ORs who would like to get involved – simply
email us at alumni@ratcliffecollege.com. Alternatively, you can update your profi le on the Ratcliffi an Association website by ticking the
‘Careers Mentor’ and/or ‘Gives Talks to Students’ boxes. We already have a number of volunteers, and with your support, we hope that
this initiative will form a key part of a valuable careers programme for students and young ORs alike.

YEAR 11 MOCK INTERVIEWS

Old Ratcliffi ans, parents and staff members gathered in the Theatre on 3rd April 2019
to deliver mock interviews, in a session run for Year 11 students as part of their PSHCE
programme. Among the interviewers were ORs Gemma Thomas (née Rumbold) (01) and
Victoria Meynell (née Illingworth) (00), along with Association Secretary Katherine Lang.
Each volunteer interviewed three or four students, sticking to a scripted set of questions
and giving the students feedback afterwards on how they performed. Katherine said:
“All three of the students I interviewed were such different characters, and it was great
to help them in this process, with the knowledge that they may soon be in a real interview
situation. It’s a great skill to have to be confi dent at interviews, so I’m glad I was able to
volunteer for this session.”

Careers Advisor Tiffany Spencer added: “This programme provides our young people with
real interview experience, receiving valuable, honest feedback from their interviewers
to complete their learning. The students really benefi t from having the opportunity to
experience at fi rst hand an interview with a representative from the world of work; it was
great to have so many volunteers from our parent and Old Ratcliffi an body.”
Following the success of the April event, a subsequent session of mock interviews was
held for the new Year 11 students on 5th November 2019. On this occasion, ORs Gemma
Thomas and Lara Addison (18) offered their time to support the initiative, along with
Ratcliffi an Association Manager Sarah Gretton. The feedback from this event was, once
again, extremely positive.

30 The Old Ratcliffi an 2019