STUDENTS and staff at Tenbury High Ormiston Academy are celebrating after their academy gained a national award recognising its careers programme and commitment to preparing students to succeed in the workplace.

The Academy has received the Career Mark award, an accolade which acknowledges schools and organisations in England offering excellent careers education, information and guidance to students.

To achieve this award, schools have to be able to demonstrate a strategic approach to the teaching and learning around careers and employability.

The awarding body considered the many creative and practical careers initiatives that the team at Tenbury High Ormiston Academy regularly organise to help students plan for the future.

These include inviting local colleges and business professionals to deliver presentations; organising trips for KS4 pupils to colleges, universities, and The Skills Show in London; and hosting a Careers Fair each year.

All these events help to raise students’ aspirations and awareness of the different career paths that they could pursue.

The careers provision on offer at the Academy was also recognised in a recent inspection by education watchdog Ofsted in July 2017, which judged ‘personal development, behaviour and welfare provision’ in the school to be Outstanding, with the school being rated as ‘Good’ overall.

Ofsted said: ‘pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of their education and learning’ and ‘choose appropriate destinations as a result of high-quality careers information, advice and guidance.’

“We are very proud that Tenbury High Ormiston Academy have achieved the Career Mark, recognising our commitment to shaping the future aspirations of our students, promoting social mobility and supporting every student to fulfil their potential,” said Adrian Price, Principal at Tenbury High School.

“This could not have been achieved this award without our fantastic team of teachers and support staff who have all worked incredibly hard – consistently going above and beyond to offer students the support, advice and enrichment opportunities they need to succeed academically, and in the next stage of the education or in the world of work.”

The Tenbury High School Ormiston Academy teaches students from the age of 11 to 16 when they leave after sitting ‘A’ level exams and going on to work or to further education at Sixth Form College.