Mount Carmel are currently looking to improve our alumni network, and we are particularly keen to work more closely with past pupils as part of our careers programme.
Mount Carmel pupils have gone on to a wide range of fantastic careers and we feel that our current pupils can better relate to, and engage with, guests who are former pupils and their aspirations. With this in mind, we want to highlight the career journeys of former pupils, as well as offering the opportunity to take part in events and activities at school.
We have a number of opportunities available, and are keen to engage with as many past pupils as we can through three main areas: pupil-focused activities, alumni activities, and the Wall of Graduates.
Pupil-focused activities
We have worked with alumni in a number of activities in the past, including Mock Interviews, advice sessions, mentoring programmes and more. We are currently trialling our proposed flagship alumni event – the Careers Clinic. This will be a session for pupils who are interested in the guest’s chosen field of work. It will be held over lunch break or during form time (with suitable refreshments provided for all those who attend) and will give pupils the opportunity to come and find out about your career journey and ask any questions they may have. The informal, laid-back nature of these sessions - more of a chat/Q&A than a talk or presentation - will hopefully allow pupils to feel more comfortable and willing to engage; and for guests to feel less pressured, especially those who do not feel confident coming to speak to larger groups such as classes or whole year groups in assembly. Following the Clinic, we will also take you on a tour of the school so that you can see what’s the same, what’s changed, and which teachers you recognise!
Alumni activities
Once we have built up our network of contacts, we plan to launch an alumni newsletter which will be emailed out once per term and will keep alumni up to date on what has been happening in school, what is coming up, and so on. Once we have launched the newsletter, we are considering ways that we can hold some events for alumni to come back to school and have a tour, speak to staff, etc.
The Wall of Graduates
The last, and possibly the most ambitious project we are planning is the new Wall of Graduates. This will be a display area in school where we highlight former pupils who went on to university, and is intended to show pupils the vast range of opportunities which exist and that success at university is a very real ambition for them. We hope that pupils will see this and aspire to one day be on the Wall themselves. Each person on the Wall will have their name, the year they left Mount Carmel, their graduation photo, and details of which university they attended, what they studied, and when they graduated.
If you are interested in taking part in any of these opportunities, please complete the linked form and we will be in touch. Completing this does not mean you are committing to anything – we will always work around what is best for you and being a part of any event is purely voluntary.