Careers & Enterprise
Welcome!
At Harris Riverside, our careers education programme supports students from Year 7 through to Year 13, helping them develop the knowledge, skills, and aspirations needed to make informed choices about their futures. Our aim is to ensure that every student, regardless of their starting point, is well-prepared for further education, training, or employment. Through a structured programme of careers lessons, employer encounters, workplace experiences, and personalised guidance, we empower students to explore a wide range of opportunities and take confident steps toward their future goals.
My name is Mrs Garrod and I am the Careers leader at Harris Riverside. It is my role to work collaboratively with students and parents in navigating the exciting journey of careers. My role is to empower our students to make informed decisions about their futures and equip them with the skills necessary for success in the ever evolving world beyond the classroom.
We collaborate closely with a large variety of organisations, agencies, universities, employers, and apprenticeship/traineeship providers to coordinate a rigorous careers programme that offers our students the most up to date information for their future pathways. If you would like to get involved in this in any way please see the How can you be involved page.
Our careers programme has been carefully designed to align with the eight Gatsby Benchmarks, which are embedded in national statutory guidance. Our action plan is focused on fully meeting each benchmark to ensure that students at Riverside receive a high-quality and comprehensive careers education throughout their time with us.
The Gatsby benchmark are as follows:
1 - A stable careers programme
2 - Learning from career and labour market information
3 - Addressing the needs of each pupil
4 - Linking curriculum learning to careers
5 - Encounters with employers and employees
6 - Experiences of workplaces
7 - Encounters with further and higher education
8 - Personal guidance
The Gatsby benchmark are as follows:
1 - A stable careers programme
2 - Learning from career and labour market information
3 - Addressing the needs of each pupil
4 - Linking curriculum learning to careers
5 - Encounters with employers and employees
6 - Experiences of workplaces
7 - Encounters with further and higher education
8 - Personal guidance
Policies & Documents
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Mrs S Garrod |
Head of Careers |
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Mrs R Shane |
Assistant Principal & Line Manager for Careers |
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Mrs M Palmer |
Careers Advisor |
We offer one-to-one meetings with our experienced careers adviser in KS4 and again in KS5. This gives students the chance to talk one-to-one with a qualified careers adviser about their future options. The meetings provide tailored advice on subjects, pathways, further education, apprenticeships, and careers, helping students make informed decisions that suit their interests, strengths, and ambitions.
Personal guidance builds confidence, raises aspirations, and ensures every student feels supported in planning their next steps. By offering impartial, professional advice, these meetings help young people understand the opportunities available to them and prepare for successful transitions beyond school.
Our Careers Advisor is Mrs Palmer, who provides independent and impartial advice to all students. Parents can arrange an appointment for their son/daughter via email, she can be contacted at careers@harrisriverside.org.uk
Work Experience is a valuable part of the curriculum and here at Riverside and we are very fortunate to have the opportunity to have time set aside for us in the yearly calendar.
This years work experience dates are 20th - 24th April for Year 10 and 6th - 10th July for Year 12 students.
In order for our students to stand out, we need to make them ‘work ready’ and ‘employable’ – equipped with the skills that an employer is looking for, not just academic skills.
Skills such as:
- Problem solving
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Time management)
- Professionalism
- Working maturity
- Willingness to learn and be guided by others
- Enthusiasm for the tasks provided
Pupils will use initiative to secure their own placements, and we will work with them, with help from parents and carers, to actively support their children in securing a placement.
Placements are then logged and monitored through the Unifrog website which students have their own log on details for. The website can be found here: https://www.unifrog.org/
Year 13:
At Harris Academy Riverside we want to support our students to go onto ambitious destinations which meet the high aspirations and goals that our Sixth Formers set for themselves.
84% of our year 13 leavers in 2025 left for higher education including:
- 2 to medicine
- 1 to Oxford
- 2 to Imperial College, London
- 37% to Russell Group Universities (national average 12%)
Universities: University College London (UCL), University of Birmingham, University of Kent, University of Leicester, Aston University, University of Nottingham, University of Law, Medway School of Pharmacy, Anglia Ruskin University, Kings College London, University of Warwick, University of Leeds, University of Greenwich, London School of Economics (LSE), De Montford University, Queen Mary University of London, Nottingham Trent University, University of East Anglia, City University of London, University of Bristol, Kingston University, Tibilisi Medical Academy, London Southbank University, University of Surrey, University of Reading, Cardiff University, St Andrews University, University of Bath, Goldsmiths University of London, University of Southampton, University of Sussex, Loughborough University
Undergraduate courses: Pharmacy, Mathematics and Physics, Nutrition and Dietetics, Chemistry with year abroad, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Veterinary Medicine and Science, Biomedical Science, Mathematics with Finance and Accounting, Economics, Automotive Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Law, Psychology with Neuroscience, Forensic Science, Ecology and Conservation, Pharmacology, Computer Science, Physics, Midwifery, Sport and Exercise Medical Sciences, Mathematics and Economics, Software Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics, Biomedical Engineering, Adult Nursing, Accounting and Finance, Biomedical and Healthcare Engineering, Medicinal and Biological Chemistry, Finance and Investment, Economics, Mathematics, Economics with Business
2024/25 Retention: 98.5%
Year 11:
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Year 11 Leavers 2025 |
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Destination |
% of year group |
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HARI Sixth Form
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6% |
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Other Sixth Form
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56% |
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College
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32% (24 pupils) |
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Grammar Schools
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4% |
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Apprenticeship
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1% |
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NEET
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1% |
We work in partnership with the Careers and Enterprise company to provide the most up to date labour market information and resources to ensure our learners are able to make the best decisions about their future.
We collaborate closely with a large variety of organisations, agencies, universities, employers, and apprenticeship/traineeship providers to coordinate a rigorous careers programme that offers our students the most up to date information for their future pathways.
How can you get involved as a parent
We know that parents play a crucial role in helping young people to navigate their future choices and we invite you to engage in the careers programme with us. Engaging in parental information evenings and school events is a great way to ensure you have the best information to support your child.
If you have any questions about how we support students and parents with their future choices, please don’t hesitate to get in touch
How can you get involved as an employer
Employers play an essential role in helping young people to navigate their future choices and we invite you to engage in the careers programme with us. Giving young people first hand experience of the world of work and the skills needed to be successful in each chosen field, as well as helping them develop the essential skill of networking, allows them to be more aspirational and see themselves in a future role.
If you have any professional expertise to share with our students and would like to engage with us to support young people, we would love to hear from you. You could assist with:
- Delivering a career talk to students
- Volunteering for mock interview days
- Hosting a stand at our annual careers fair
- Offering a work experience placement for a student
- Hosting some students at your place of work for a day
If you are interested in offering a few hours of your time please contact Mrs Garrod careers@Harrisriverside.org.uk
Useful websites
- Thurrock Opportunities have jobs opportunities, courses, 'what industry is right for me', advice and much more for local young people and adults.
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/
- Lots of useful information, including how to choose careers by using some of the on-line inventories available. Also points you to on-line help and call centres for careers guidance.
- This is the national site for almost all apprenticeship applications nationwide. You will need to register an account with them (it’s free) but then you can search and apply for apprenticeships that you fancy doing.
www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
- Search online for current apprenticeship vacancies with a link to online applications.
- Great site for finding out where the local learning opportunities for post-16 are. Search by course, subject or even provider. So, you could use it to find out if a particular college offered a particular A Level or BTEC, or just look for where the nearest learning provider is that does the course you want