THORNTON College near Buckingham is a finalist in this year’s Independent School of the Year Awards.
The independent day and boarding school for girls has been recognised for its outstanding Student Careers Programme.
The Independent Schools of the Year Awards showcase the excellence of the educational experience available to students of all backgrounds.
Thornton College head teacher Val Holmes said: ‘We are thrilled to be a finalist for this award as we passionately believe that pupils’ interest in career paths will be fostered by seeing how their classroom learning transfers to the workplace.
“We have an excellent careers team who go above and beyond each year to provide our students with engaging opportunities and one to one support. I am delighted that my colleagues’ hard work has been publicly recognised and I would like to say a huge thank you to all our partnership companies and of course our students for their positive engagement year on year.”
Each year Thornton College delivers an extensive STEAM programme, which includes inviting other schools to a broad range of events providing employer and university encounters for students from Years 7 – 13. Recent events include building a Formula One car with Sahara Force India and constructing a prototype level crossing with Network Rail.
The school also runs an Annual STEAM Careers’ Event hosting over 20 leading companies including Unilever, AECOM, Tesla, PwC, Aon and Sport Pesa Racing. This year more than 350 students from local schools attended the event and found out more about the range of career pathways available.
Thornton is also recognised for leading the way in introducing robotics across the curriculum supporting SEND children in social skills and stretching the more able.
Thornton College is home to a family of ten Mekamon robots which visit classrooms in the Prep School across a range of specialist subjects.
Jo Scott, careers and enterprise leader at Thornton College, said: ‘We are proud of our extensive Careers’ Programme and our commitment to supporting students with individualised, bespoke guidance. We passionately believe in providing a broad range of employer and university encounters to allow all our students to build the employability skills that companies seek.
“To be a finalist in such a prestigious competition is fantastic.”
The winners will be announced in October.
