National Quality in Careers Standard awarded to Brockenhurst College

Brockenhurst College has been awarded the Quality in Careers Standard (QCS) for its careers education, information, advice and guidance.

The QCS is a national quality award for schools, colleges and work-based learning settings that is only given after a rigorous assessment process.

It is fully aligned with the eight Gatsby Benchmarks, which provide a framework that schools and colleges can use to develop a good careers programme.

The assessment required submission of an extensive portfolio of practice evidence to support the College’s case.

This was followed by a round of interviews for staff, partners and students, which were conducted by an external assessor.

The application process was led by Brock Careers Leader, Alistair Lambon, who is a well-known figure in the careers guidance field.

He was shortlisted for the Careers Adviser of the Year in 2017 by the Career Development Institute.

He also won a Hampshire Education Award in 2019 for his contribution to Career Education and Guidance.

Prior to his work in careers guidance, Alistair had a successful career in the RAF, ending his service as a member of the RAF Careers Information Service.

Incidentally, he also served on the Tactical Supply Wing, which is a specialist logistics unit formerly commanded by Brockenhurst College Principal, Polly Perkins CBE.

Alistair said: “Careers education and guidance is only effective if everyone values it and is involved, and that is certainly true of Brock.

“Gaining this award in full is a great result and formal recognition of all the hard work and commitment staff place on careers guidance, making my role as the Careers Leader enjoyable and rewarding.”

Assistant Principal Steve Jenkin said: “We have been working on gaining this award for some time, and the fairly recent appointment of Alistair ensured that with his wealth of experience we were able to pull together evidence of all our great work and get this fantastic result.

“The assessment process was extremely robust and enabled the College’s entire approach to Careers Education to shine through and be recognised.”