At Richmond Hill Academy, we believe that every child we work with deserves an education that not only prepares them for the future world they will live in, one that exposes them to a range of careers but also develops their aspirations and ultimately inspires them. Our school vision “Together, we believe, flourish and succeed” shows our dedication to ensuring all children are supported when developing self-belief, progressing confidently through the curriculum and identifying and achieving their ambitions. Through broadening their horizons and by believing that every child we work with can succeed, we create an environment in which everyone has the courage to aim exceptionally high.

Every lesson at RHA begins by discussing with the pupils exactly what skills they will be using and in turn, professions that use those skills. For example, an RE lesson will begin with ‘Today we are being theologians by’… and a music lesson will begin with ‘Today we are being musicians by…’. Additionally, during the lockdown in 2020, we wanted to continue our focus on aspirations and so created ‘Careers for the Curious’ to broaden our children’s knowledge and experience of a range of professions and potential careers. Our children were introduced to this via a two-part video. The first video introduces the professional as they explain the range of skills and equipment they may use during a day of work as well as discussing the training and qualifications they have had to complete to conduct their job. Children are then encouraged to guess the career and ask further questions which we recognised really inspired the children into thinking about how the skills they already have could benefit them well in their future. Along with the second video, which reveals the career, further information about the profession is shared therefore, the children are provided with the option to further explore the career independently.

Through broadening their horizons and sharing the belief that every child we work with can succeed, we create an environment in which everyone has the courage and ambition to aim exceptionally high.

The Brilliant Club works with schools and universities across the UK to increase the number of pupils from underrepresented backgrounds to highly-selective universities. Through the Scholars Programme, children in Year 5 and 6 have the opportunity to work with a PhD researcher to experience university-style learning. This helps them to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to aim for university after their A-Levels. As part of this fantastic opportunity, children have two visits to highly-selective universities such as the University of York and to explore a specific area of a subject in great detail. The current group have looked at the role of the heart before designing and carrying out their own scientific investigation.