News & Headteacher Blogs

The Downs School hosted one of its two annual Personal Development Programme days(PDP) in November, with a particular focus on future careers and employability skills for Year 10 students.  As part of the event, students were visited by local employers, university and apprenticeship representatives.

Over 25 volunteers from local industry took part in a ‘speedy careers’ event, where the students spent a short time with a number of the volunteers, questioning them about their skills, qualifications and how they have progressed their careers. They then had a session with Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge for Schools and Colleges (ASK) to learn about the wide variety of apprenticeships now available for school leavers, including solicitor and nursing careers. A representative from Oxford Brookes University talked about the opportunities available for students wishing to progress onto further education. Newbury based Education Business Partnership (EBP) put on an interview workshop, helping students to not only prepare well but perform well in interviews.

PDP is part of the core learning curriculum, and is designed to give impetus to enquiring minds and support students embarking in future challenges in education and training.