CAREERS EDUCATION, INFORMATION, ADVICE AND GUIDANCE

At The Bicester School, we offer a comprehensive Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme that supports every student from Year 7 to Year 13.

Our vision 

At The Bicester School, we empower all students to make informed and ambitious choices about their future. Through high-quality careers education, events and visits and strong partnerships, we prepare students with the skills, knowledge and confidence to succeed in a changing world.

Our intent

• To provide a broad, balanced and impartial education in careers that gives students the knowledge they need to make informed decisions.
• To embed into the curriculum opportunities for students to develop and use employability skills that will allow them the flourish in the world of work.
• To make links between subject areas and careers education to ensure that students see how their academic studies can link to future study and employment.
• To give students the opportunity to develop their cultural capital through careers activities and events which broaden their horizons.
• To enable students to make positive choices when they transition from Key Stage Three to Key Stage Four and choose their GCSE Options Subjects.
• To enable students to make positive choices when they transition from Key Stage Four to Key Stage Five whether that is at The Bicester School or with another provider.
• To equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to be fully prepared for their next stage of education when they leave The Bicester School whether they choose to go on to university, an apprenticeship or employment.
• To build links with local educational providers, apprenticeship providers and employers so that students can see what opportunities are available in their local area and how they can prepare for joining those organisations. For example, working closely with Bicester Motion.
• To build links with local STEM employers and educational providers to help prepare students for working in STEM careers as Bicester has many high quality STEM opportunities.
• To provide families with relevant information about future pathways that helps them support students in making choices about their future.

What we offer

Careers curriculum – A structured programme running from Year 7 to Year 11, helping students explore career options and pathways.

Employer encounters & events – Access to a wide range of industries through visits, workshops and guest speakers.

Education encounters & event-Regular events in school as well as visits to Higher and Further Education providers, working closely with Oxford Brookes University, as well as many others.

Personal guidance – One-to-one careers interviews and group sessions with qualified, impartial advisers.

Practical support – Help with CV writing, interview skills, apprenticeship searches and university applications.

Key dates for 2025-26

• Year 9 Human Library: Thursday 6 November 2025 8.30-11am
• Pathways Fair (Years 10-13 and parents): Tuesday 2 December 2025 11am-4pm
• Year 10 Work Experience: Tuesday 3 March – Friday 6 March 2026
• Year 8 Employability Skills: Friday 24 April 2026 8.30am-11am
• Year 12 Work Experience: Monday 29 June – Friday 3 July 2026
• Year 10 Mock interviews: Wednesday 8 July 2026 8.30am-12.30pm
• Year 12 Future Plans Day: Thursday 9 July 2026

We often need help from local and national employers to run these events for the benefit of our students. If you’re interested in finding out more, please email us on our general careers email address here.

Useful resources for parents & students

Our careers program is supported by the brilliant careers software, UniFrog. This is an impartial, user-friendly platform, that has all the information about careers in one place, and helps students make the best choices for their future.

We introduce students to Unifrog in Year 7, as you can see from our Careers Learning Journey here, and integrate careers learning throughout our curriculum, in every year. This may take the form of trips and visits or guest speakers, work experience and careers fairs.

The UCAS website and Government’s Apprenticeship website are extremely comprehensive, detailing every course and apprenticeship available in the country. We encourage students to spend time exploring all their options before making their applications. Students may also find our Careers Subject Directory helpful, as this lists careers and options grouped by subject.

Work Experience 

Each year, our year 12 students have the opportuntiy to complete a week of valuable work experience with local employers. Read more about their stories from last year here

We regularly update our careers provision in line with student needs and the ever-changing job market, both locally and nationally.

Key contacts

Should you wish to contact the careers team for further support or would like to contribute to our provision, please use the contact details below: 

• General Careers Enquires: ceiag@thebicesterschool.org.uk
• Careers Lead: john.oregan@thebicesterschool.org.uk 
• Careers Adviser: alison.rosier@thebicesterschool.org.uk
• Work Experience Co-Ordinator: sam.king@thebicesterschool.org.uk

Careers information

TBS Careers termly newsletter

Spring 2025 

Summer 2025

Autumn 2025

Policies and procedures

You can find our Provider Access Statement and Careers Guidance procedure on our policies page here.