Careers at Byrchall – Discover Your Future

Live to Learn. Learn to Live.

At Byrchall High School, we believe every student should leave school with the confidence, knowledge and ambition to take their next steps with purpose.

From Year 7 onwards, students explore a wide range of careers, meet employers, visit universities, experience workplaces and develop the skills that will help them succeed in education, employment and adult life.

Whether their future leads to sixth form, college, university, an apprenticeship, employment or entrepreneurship, every pathway is valued and every student is supported.

Why Careers Matter at Byrchall

At Byrchall, we provide every student with opportunities to:

✔ Discover careers they may never have considered

✔ Meet employers and industry professionals

✔ Develop employability skills through our SMART Steps

✔ Experience the workplace through Work Experience and employer encounters

✔ Receive impartial careers guidance

✔ Make informed choices about their future

✔ Raise aspirations and broaden horizons

Our Careers Journey

Students experience careers education throughout all five years at Byrchall.

Year YEAR 7 YEAR 8 YEAR 9 YEAR 10 YEAR 11
Focus Discovering careers and raising aspirations Identifying strengths, skills and future opportunities Careers linked to GCSE choices Work Experience, employability and future planning Post-16 pathways, applications and transition

The Gatsby Benchmarks

Our careers programme is planned and reviewed using the Gatsby Benchmarks, a nationally recognised framework that defines high-quality careers provision in schools and colleges.

The eight benchmarks help us ensure that students receive careers education that is planned, impartial, personalised and connected to the world beyond school.

At Byrchall, the Gatsby Benchmarks support our work in:

  • Providing a stable careers programme from Year 7 to Year 11
  • Helping students and parents understand labour market information
  • Meeting the individual needs of every learner
  • Linking careers learning to the curriculum
  • Giving students meaningful encounters with employers and employees
  • Providing experiences of workplaces
  • Introducing students to further and higher education pathways
  • Ensuring students receive personal guidance

We use the Gatsby Benchmarks alongside student voice, parent feedback, employer feedback, destination data and Compass+ to evaluate and continually improve our careers provision.

Meet Our Careers Team

General Careers Enquiries – please e-mail our team at: careers@byrchall.wigan.sch.uk

Employer Partnerships

We believe careers education is strongest when students hear directly from employers and professionals.

We welcome support from local businesses, universities and organisations through:

  • Guest speakers
  • Careers fairs
  • Mock interviews
  • Workplace visits
  • Enterprise projects
  • Work experience placements
  • Mentoring opportunities

Interested in working with Byrchall?

We would be delighted to hear from you. careers@byrchall.wigan.sch.uk

Where Are They Now? 

Once a Byrchall student, always part of the Byrchall family.

One of the most powerful ways we can inspire our students is by sharing the journeys of those who once sat in the very same classrooms.

Whether you’ve gone on to university, college, an apprenticeship, the Armed Forces, started your own business or built a successful career, we’d love to celebrate your achievements.

We’d love to hear:

  • Your name
  • The year you left Byrchall
  • Your current career, course or apprenticeship
  • Your journey since leaving school
  • A recent photograph, if you would like to provide one

We’d also love to hear if you’d be interested in:

  • Speaking at a careers event
  • Supporting a careers fair
  • Recording a short careers video
  • Offering work experience
  • Supporting mock interviews
  • Mentoring students
  • Inspiring the next generation

Contact us at: alumni@byrchall.wigan.sch.uk

Your story could be the one that inspires a student to believe they can achieve it too.

Careers in Action

Throughout the year, students benefit from a wide range of careers and employability opportunities, including:

  • Careers & Aspiration Day
  • Department Focus Weeks
  • National Careers Week
  • National Apprenticeship Week
  • Employer talks
  • University visits
  • College visits
  • Careers fairs
  • Enterprise activities
  • Work Experience
  • Mock interviews

How We Monitor and Evaluate Our Careers Provision

We continually monitor, evaluate and improve our careers programme to ensure that it meets the needs of our students and provides high-quality careers education, information, advice and guidance.

We review our provision using:

  • Compass+ and the Gatsby Benchmarks to assess the quality and coverage of our careers programme
  • Unifrog to enable students to record careers activities, reflect on their learning and track their careers development over time
  • Student voice to understand students’ experiences and identify areas for development
  • Parent and carer feedback to help us understand how effectively we support families with careers and future pathways
  • Employer and provider feedback following careers activities, events and encounters
  • Destination data to monitor the education, employment and training pathways students move on to after leaving Byrchall
  • Evaluation of careers activities and events to measure their impact and inform future planning
  • Annual careers quality assurance and programme review to identify strengths and priorities for further development

The Careers Leader, supported by the SLT Careers Link and Careers Governor, reviews the effectiveness of the careers programme regularly.

Findings from this evaluation are used to inform future careers planning and ensure that our provision continues to develop in response to the needs of our students.

We are proud that most of our students continue into education, employment or training after leaving Byrchall.

Destinations

Parents – Supporting Your Child’s Future

Parents and carers play a vital role in helping young people make informed decisions about education, training and careers. The resources below provide impartial advice to help you support your child’s future.

Resource What you’ll find
Parents’ Guide to Careers – National Careers Week A comprehensive guide covering career pathways, qualifications, apprenticeships, university, work experience and advice for talking to your child about their future.
Post-16 Pathways – National Careers Service Information about A Levels, T Levels, vocational qualifications, apprenticeships, college, sixth form and supported pathways.
Apprenticeships Explained – Amazing Apprenticeships Information for parents about apprenticeships, including pay, levels, qualifications and how to apply.
Labour Market Information – National Careers Service Explore growing careers, expected salaries, employment trends and the future skills employers are looking for.
Careerpilot Independent guidance about career ideas, qualifications, university, apprenticeships and career planning.
The Careers & Enterprise Company
 National guidance explaining careers education, the Gatsby Benchmarks and how parents can support career development.

Useful Links

Helping at Home

Parents and carers can make a real difference by:

  • Talking regularly about careers and aspirations
  • Encouraging your child to explore a wide range of occupations
  • Attending careers evenings and information events
  • Supporting work experience, volunteering and enrichment opportunities
  • Helping them research apprenticeships, college courses, sixth forms and university options
  • Encouraging them to develop the skills employers value, including communication, teamwork, resilience and problem-solving

Key Documents

Please use the links below to find out more about careers provision at Byrchall: