The Forest School in Wokingham is already achieving 100% in Gatsby Benchmark 4 (Careers in the Curriculum). As part of the Berkshire Careers Hub’s wider strategy to develop and showcase best practice, the school was selected to pilot an enhanced Careers in the Curriculum lesson. While the school has a strong existing provision, some students can still find it challenging to clearly see how aspects of Geography, particularly topics such as sustainable urban development, link to real world careers.
The school’s proximity to Loddon Garden Village provided an ideal setting to trial a model lesson designed to deepen engagement and strengthen the connection between curriculum learning and career opportunities. Delivered and facilitated by employers from Meeting Place, the session centred on sustainable urban development and used a local, real-world context, enabling students to design an area of Loddon Garden Village named ‘Hatch Farm’.
The employer led delivery brought energy, industry insight and authenticity into the classroom, alongside a hands-on design challenge where students balanced sustainability with the demands of urban growth. Interactive questioning and discussion encouraged critical thinking throughout, while clear links were made to careers in urban planning, development and sustainability. As a result, careers education was meaningfully embedded within the Geography curriculum, helping students to better understand the relevance of their learning.
The session delivered strong and measurable outcomes in student engagement, confidence and career awareness. Students demonstrated high levels of focus and participation throughout, with engagement noticeably higher than in a standard lesson. Many students, including those who can be more disengaged, actively contributed and showed confidence when articulating and defending their ideas. They were able to clearly recognise how Geography applies beyond the classroom, particularly through the real-world task of redesigning a local area. The session also supported the development of key skills such as critical thinking and problem solving. Importantly, the careers element had a tangible impact on aspirations, with links to real job roles making pathways feel realistic and attainable. Several students after the session expressed an interest in careers in urban development and planning, demonstrating its ability to influence future thinking.
Reflections from the Geography teacher further highlighted the quality and effectiveness of the session delivery. The “fantastic energy” brought by the Meeting Place facilitators was key to maintaining engagement and enthusiasm from start to finish. The combination of creative, hands-on design and interactive questioning was identified as particularly successful in encouraging genuine critical thinking. The use of a local context was also seen as a significant strength, making learning immediately relevant and accessible for students. The session was described as highly adaptable, with the potential to both engage a full cohort and support targeted groups, including students at risk of NEET.
Overall, it was viewed as a “refreshing, memorable and highly impactful” experience that successfully connected classroom learning to real world applications.
Following the success of the pilot, the school and the Careers Hub plan to build on this momentum by exploring opportunities to deliver the session across a full year group, thereby increasing its reach and overall impact. The model will be shared as an example of best practice across the Careers Hub to support wider adoption, alongside continued efforts to embed employer engagement more consistently across the curriculum. Overall, the pilot demonstrates the value of employer-led Careers in the Curriculum activity in enhancing engagement, strengthening curriculum relevance and raising student aspirations.
