Mrs Selley Wins National Award! We are delighted to announce that longstanding teacher and Careers Lead at Penrice, Charlotte Selley, has been recognised as National Careers Leader of the Year by the Careers & Enterprise Company. The CEC annual awards ceremony, held at Newbury Racecourse in Berkshire on Wednesday 5th July 2018, celebrated the work of schools, colleges, businesses, and careers professionals in giving school leavers around the country the best career opportunities possible. Over 200 nominations were accepted for the nine categories and the winners were chosen by a panel of independent expert judges. In June Charlotte was presented with the South West Award – and is now recognised nationally. Richard Cardigan, Assistant Principal at Penrice, said: “It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to attend the Careers and Enterprise National Award Ceremony with Charlotte and see her win in front of 1200 delegates from across the UK.” “It is an unbelievable achievement and is so deserving of a teacher who has dedicated over 40 years to Penrice Academy.” Charlotte oversees careers and enterprise provision from Year 7 to Year 11 at Penrice. The programme includes a programme created by Charlotte that teachers deliver in tutor time, as well as practical workshops, talks and visits. Claudia Harris, chief executive of the CEC, said. “Across the country schools and colleges are making progress towards world class careers support as laid out by the Gatsby benchmarks. Just last month Ofsted remarked on the improvement across England.” “Our award winners provide further inspiration for schools and colleges designing their careers offer and seeking to provide their students with the best possible start to their working lives.” Mrs Selley said she was ‘over the moon’: “The Award is for everyone who has contributed, supported and delivered the Careers programme – staff, external agencies and employers. Together we can make a difference. The key is leadership support. Start small and build on good practice.” “I hope it will raise the profile of careers county-wide.” Just last month Penrice students took part in the very first World of Work Show, live on Youtube. In the show’s pilot, students had the opportunity to interview industry experts live. All staff in the school are primarily responsible for delivery and are expected to contribute to the CEIAG programme through their roles as tutors and subject teachers. The careers programme is a mixture of sessions within tutorial time, careers events, activities, practical workshops, talks, lectures, and visits all designed to encourage our students to explore different career possibilities and think outside the box. All of the programmes teach students much needed skills for when they leave education and enter the world of work. Mr Cardigan said: “There has been many hours hard work, but we now have a careers programme that has been recognised nationally and will continue to grow. The most important part of education is giving young people opportunities, inspiring them and raising their aspirations – Charlotte does this in abundance.” “A remarkable accomplishment for Charlotte, for the Academy and for the South West.”