Careers Roundup – Jun 2026

It’s been an incredibly busy few months for Careers in School, in fact the entire year has been bursting with activity and exciting opportunities for our students.

Careers Fair

Our annual Careers Fair in March was a huge success and continues to grow year on year, and both exhibitors and students outdid themselves this year. Attendance was fantastic, and exhibitors left delighted with the quality of conversations they had with students. We are pleased to confirm that the Careers Fair will return next academic year on Saturday 6 March 2027.

Talks in School

Numerous talks have taken place over the last few months, including:

• Barclays – speaking about apprenticeships and graduate/intern positions

• Careers in Veterinary – Sam Fowler (OW) spoke about his career as a vet and routes into the profession
• Google – Mrs Gill (current parent) very kindly came in and spoke about her role within Google and the careers available within her company
• Careers in Journalism and Media – James Tzanoudakis (OW) spoke about his career as a sports journalist and presenter for Town TV
• Forensic Psychology – Lucy Overton, a Chartered and Registered Senior Forensic Psychologist, spoke about what it is like to work within the prison service and what a typical day is like
• Being a Paramedic – Matt Strudwick (OW) spoke about how he became a paramedic and the differences between qualifying through university or an apprenticeship, as well as what a typical day looks like
• Getting into Politics – Tom Turner (OW) spoke about his journey into politics and how saying yes to opportunities has led him to interview Rachel Reeves, meet other politicians and visit Westminster

• What is a Gap Year? – Mrs Stafford delivered a talk about the different Gap Year opportunities and spoke to students about things to consider
• Clinical Psychology – Lily Felton (OW) spoke about her route into becoming a Clinical Psychologist and published author, and how important it is to embrace rejections, keep going, and most of all, take whatever opportunities arise

Events

Besides lunchtime talks, students have also been able to take part in various events:

• Five students from Year 12 were invited to attend the MSC Games, an annual event held at MSC’s head office in Ipswich. Students from four different schools not only learned about the different careers within MSC, but also took part in a series of shipping and logistics-style challenges, developing strategies and competing for points throughout the day. The students had a fantastic day, and we look forward to hopefully being able to take part again next academic year

• Annual trip to UEA for Year 12 students
• CV Session for Year 12 students
• BT Insight Day for students in Years 9 and 10, where they learned about BT networks, experienced the Outreach Lab, visited the Network Operations Centre and, perhaps most excitingly, tested out the different stations in the Technology Showcase
• A Day in the Life of a Trainee Solicitor was open to students in Year 12 to attend, to see what a typical day is like. Parent Lizzy Ferguson kindly hosted the event, which covered topics such as routes into the industry. Students also worked through a number of different tasks, prioritising requests, sorting emails, completing paperwork and generally getting a feel for what a trainee may be asked to do
• We visited the UCAS Discovery Event at the University of Suffolk with Year 12, which was a great opportunity for them to start seriously looking at which universities they are interested in, speak with them, but also see universities they may not have considered
• Year 9 students got to experience a Vet Experience Workshop, where those students interested in the industry were shown how to bandage an animal, basic suturing patterns, and gloving and gowning for surgery

• Mock Interview Day for Year 12 was a huge success, with students having to prepare their CV and apply for roles, and then be interviewed by industry experts. Thank you to Maddy Houchell (OW) from MSC, Adele Gordan from Reed, Lizzy Ferguson (current parent) and Pauline Lifton (from our very own Head of People at Woodbridge School) for conducting the interviews and giving feedback

In summary, it has not only been quite a term, but a truly remarkable year! Amongst all these talks, events and workshops, students have also been able to receive one-to-one guidance as needed.

None of these opportunities would be possible without the support of our alumni, parents and employer partners, and we are incredibly grateful for their continued involvement.

Excited for the year ahead, we would encourage everyone to save the date for next year’s Careers Fair, Saturday 6 March 2027. If you have any career-related questions or would like to get involved in our careers programme, please contact Mrs Sharon Stafford, Careers Advisor, at sjstafford@woodbridgeschool.org.uk.