Post-16 Choices High On Agenda as Academy Hosts ‘Future Forward’ Theatre Performance

Actors from Performance in Education who delivered a ‘Future Forward’ presentation to Year 8 students (pictured) at Cleethorpes Academy. The actors are Jake Statham, Jenny Moore and Rachel Seymour. Also pictured is Paul Kaylow, Vice Principal at Cleethorpes Academy. 

Students at Cleethorpes Academy have been looking to the future as they consider their post-16 opportunities with the help of a theatre performance that focuses on options.

The Performance In Education show entitled ‘Future Forward’ was funded by Hull University and involved a scenario of three students, played by actors, who are asked to consider what they would like to be doing in 10 years’ time. The students are in a fictional detention scene and cannot be released until they can answer the question by considering in detail what their options might be.

The production takes a humorous but informative look at the benefits of A Levels, BTec, and NVQ qualifications and apprenticeships, and the distinction between each one. It also reinforces the message that each one of these routes is suitable for higher education and accessing places at university.

Team Leader Jenny Moore said the interactive show aims to dispel some myths, such as you cannot get into university without A Levels, and ultimately give the students the information to make an informed choice for the future.

“The only difference between what you do post-16 is in the way you choose to learn. All of the qualifications, A Levels, BTec and NVQs, can lead onto the same pathway,” she said.

Paul Kaylow, Vice Principal at Cleethorpes Academy, said it is never too early to start thinking about the future. “The choices you make at GCSE level impact what you can do after that and so we want students to start thinking about what they would like to do early on so that when it comes to making GCSE choices in Year 10 they are well-informed.”

At Cleethorpes Academy, future choices are high on the agenda, with regular lunchtime visits from Franklin College and Grimsby Institute, who set up stalls to chat with students about their future options. There have also been visits from local apprenticeship training providers, HETA and Avant. The Academy has also retrained a member of staff as a Careers Guidance Assistant who can bring dedicated, one-to-one careers support to all students on site.

Cleethorpes Academy Year 8 students who watched the ‘Future Forward’ performance said it had qualified what certain qualifications stood for and who they are best suited to.

Twelve-year-old Maxwell Bradshaw said the presentation had shown him the distinction between the different qualifications, which would help him in choosing the right path to become a Science Teacher in the future.

Performance in Education actors, Jake Statham, Rachel Seymour and Jenny Moore, identify the distinction between post-16 qualifications for Year 8 students at Cleethorpes Academy.

Year 8 students take part in the interactive performance on post-16 choices.