Lincoln Gardens Careers Afternoon

John Leggott College delivered a careers afternoon for the full Year 5 cohort at Lincoln Gardens Primary School this week, giving students aged nine and ten their first structured introduction to the world of work and the pathways that can take them there.

Five interactive careers stations were set up across the school, covering Health and Social Care, Dance, Law, Media and Animation, and Science. Students rotated through each station in groups, spending 12 minutes with professionals from each sector before moving on. 

By the end of the afternoon, every child had experienced all five pathways.

What happened at each careers station?

Each station gave Year 5 students a hands-on introduction to a real career sector, not just a description of it. Students took part in activities designed to reflect the skills and thinking required in each field, and spoke directly with professionals about what those careers involve day to day, what qualifications lead to them, and what kind of opportunities they open up.

The five pathways covered a wide spread of the career landscape available to young people in North Lincolnshire and beyond. Health and Social Care addressed one of the largest employment sectors in the Scunthorpe area. Law introduced students to critical thinking and argument. Science connected classroom learning to real-world application. Media and Animation brought creative and digital careers into focus. Dance explored performance, physical education, and the creative industries.

The format of 12 minutes per station kept the energy high and gave every student meaningful contact with every sector, rather than a single extended session on one topic.

Why does careers education matter in primary school?

Careers education at primary level builds the foundational awareness that secondary school choices build on. A Year 5 student who has encountered the concept of a career in Law, Health, or the Creative Arts is better placed to make informed subject choices at secondary school than one encountering these sectors for the first time at 14 or 16.

The National Careers Service provides guidance for young people at every stage of education, and the evidence base for early careers exposure is well established: students who engage with careers education earlier make more confident and considered decisions later [Cite: National Careers Service Post-16 Options - nationalcareers.service.gov.uk]. 

For schools in North Lincolnshire, events like this one at Lincoln Gardens create a bridge between primary school curiosity and the post-16 choices that JLC supports students through every year.

According to North Lincolnshire Council's most recent education reporting, the quality of education across the region continues to improve, and widening careers awareness at primary level is a key part of that picture [Cite: North Lincolnshire Council - northlincs.gov.uk].

How did students and staff respond to the afternoon?

The feedback from both students and staff at Lincoln Gardens was strongly positive. One student described it as "the best afternoon they had ever had," a response that reflects the value of hands-on, interactive careers engagement over passive information delivery.

Staff at the school noted the engagement levels across all five stations and the quality of the conversations students were having with the professionals present. For a Year 5 cohort, the ability to ask real questions of people working in fields they had never previously considered is a genuinely different kind of learning experience.

What does this mean for schools in Scunthorpe and North Lincolnshire?

JLC's careers outreach programme is part of a wider commitment to supporting education across the North Lincolnshire area, from primary school engagement through to post-16 study and university progression. The college works with schools across the Scunthorpe, Brigg, Barnetby, and Humber region to deliver careers education that reflects the real employment landscape students will enter.

For families whose children are currently in primary school and beginning to think about the longer journey through education, JLC's courses offer covers A-Levels, BTECs, and T-Levels at post-16, with progression routes into universities across the UK and beyond.