careers Activities

An inspiring Speaker comes to the College

The college community was delighted to welcome Mr. Lee Blower. Lee is the founder of Tattoos and Tears.

Mr Blower spoke to all our Year 8 students about the circumstances and suffering in his life that brought him to serving a four-year prison sentence in Cardiff and then the subsequent journey and healing which led him to the work that he carries out today.

Lee’s inspirational story outlines how bullying led to low self-esteem and substance misuse and how finding faith in God gave him a new sense of direction and purpose in his life enabling him to heal and then inspire others.

A truly inspiration journey which has led Lee helping others to achieve their potential.
Prayer

May today be a day of purpose, joy, and blessings — not just for me, but for everyone I encounter. Amen

Advice From The Experts

Year 10 – NHS

On Friday 5th December our Year 10 heath students were introduced to a careers in nursing. Debbie Freckleton-Clarke from the Royal Liverpool Hospital gave us a valuable insight into the wide range of opportunities within the profession. She explained the different nursing roles, the training pathways, and the key skills needed, such as compassion, teamwork, and resilience. The talk was informative and inspiring, helping us better understand what a career in nursing involves and the positive impact nurses have on people’s lives.

Year 12 and 13 – Sports Journalism

On Tuesday 2nd December we welcomed Tim Abraham from Liverpool John Moores University to the college.

The session provided an overview of the journalism industry, including the different career paths available and the skills needed to succeed, such as strong communication, research, and adaptability. Tim discussed routes into journalism, university courses, and the importance of digital media in modern journalism. The talk was informative and helped us gain a better understanding of careers in journalism and the opportunities available.

Acorn Insurance / Alumni Talk

On Tuesday 25th November we welcomed Nat Woods and former student Charlotte Green, who gained an apprenticeship in the summer of 2025, at Acorn.

Nat and Charlotte delivered a careers talk to our sixth form students, focusing on apprenticeship opportunities within the company. The session provided an overview of the insurance industry and the different roles available, highlighting the benefits of apprenticeships as a pathway to gaining hands-on experience while continuing education.

Students learned about the skills and qualities employers look for, as well as the progression opportunities within the company. The talk was engaging and offered valuable insight into starting a career through apprenticeships.

University of Cambridge Residential

This fabulous experience was part of their participation in the Aspire Liverpool programme which looks to increase the numbers of students applying to Oxbridge from non-selective schools.

Over the past two years we have seen students make successful applications to Oxford and we hope that this aspiration continues with our up-coming year groups.

Experiences such as these give our students the incentive and encouragement to make that application in the future. In the words of our students: Summer, Nathan and Etem: “We really enjoyed the whole experience. We were able to attend lectures and supervisions which are the Cambridge version of small group tutorials. Also, we really enjoyed the social time, meeting people from other schools who we have kept in touch with, we even slept in the dorms that the undergraduates use! Added to this was a tour of Cambridge itself and some Q & A with current students.”

Reaching Out to OUR aspiring Students – OXBRIDGE CALLING

The college was delighted to recently welcome the Outreach Officer for the University of Cambridge.

An excellent presentation was given to our aspiring students about future possible applications to this prestigious university.

A wonderful, informative and exciting talk about the application process, subject choices, the college system and financial planning for these important years was provided to our students.

Archbishop Beck Catholic College is also a member of the Aspire Liverpool group.

Later this year the College will be providing the opportunity for our students to take part once again in a residential experience at Cambridge University.

Headteacher, Paul Stirling, commented “With previous students gaining places in recent years, we feel very strongly about ensuring our students are encouraged and given every opportunity to apply to Oxbridge. We want only the best for our students”.

University of Central Lancashire Visit

Date line – University of Oxford

Dominus Illuminatio Mea.

“The Lord is my Light“

“To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don’t worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest”. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Charlize Morrey recently had her Matriculation Ceremony at Oxford.

This is a formal event where new students officially become members of the University of Oxford. This ceremony marked the beginning of Charlize’s academic career at the university.

This is an amazing achievement, and everyone at Archbishop Catholic College community sends their very best wishes to Charlize for the years ahead.

Science to Life Outside the Laboratory

“The important thing is to never stop questioning.” Albert Einstein

A Level Science Sixth Form pupils attended ELRIG’s Drug Discovery 2025 in Liverpool City centre on Monday 20th October.

ELRIG is Europe’s leading drug discovery and life sciences conference with talks on topics including robotics, cell and disease models, ‘omics, AI, oncology and neurodegenerative disease.

Our students had an opportunity to “ask the expert” and witness real life PhD presentations on cutting edge drug technology and research.

It also gave students the opportunity to network and begin making introductions within the scientific community. Emily Pevie, Lilia Fleming, Daniel Charles and Michelle Osayi finished in the top 3 in the final quiz of the day – a great achievement, well done!

Meet the Professionals

As part of our ‘Meet the Professionals’ series, Sophie Humphries from Liverpool Speech and Language Therapy met with selected Year 12 and 13 students on Friday 26th September. She explored the exciting pathways that subjects such as psychology and STEM can lead to, while also highlighting the key skills required to succeed in these fields. Our Year 11 students also enjoyed an engaging presentation from the Royal Navy. Billy Elder, Careers Lead for the Navy, spoke about the entry requirements and the diverse range of careers on offer – from combat roles to engineering, medical, and physical fitness careers.

High Praise for College Student from BioGrad Education

The Administrator of BIOGRAD Education recently contacted the college, she had this to say,

“I am pleased to reach out from BioGrad Education where we had the pleasure of welcoming your student Samuel on our Biomedical Science course in Liverpool this summer. It was a pleasure to work with Samuel, and I wanted to take a moment to commend his conduct throughout the week. He is an absolute credit to Archbishop Beck Catholic College.

He not only behaved in a highly professional manner but also showed a great deal of curiosity, and a commitment to advancement in the field of Biomedical Science. He represented your school with distinction and left a lasting impression on our scientific team.

If there is anything we can do to support your students further, please do not hesitate to get in touch.”

Headteacher, Paul Stirling said, “our students are a remarkable group of young man and women who constantly bring praise to the college community by the way they represent us. True ambassadors”.

What is BioGrad?

Established in 2014 under the leadership of Dr. Natalie Kenny. BioGrad has undergone a transformative journey spanning ten years. Within the BioGrad Group, they encompass BioGrad Education, BioGrad Biobank, BioGrad Prenatal, and BioGrad Diagnostics. Situated in the heart of the Liverpool City Region, they are at the forefront of advancing science and healthcare education, regenerative medicine, clinical research, biobanking, and numerous other innovative science and medical fields.

Oxford & Cambridge Visits

With several alumni now gaining places at Oxford University, the college continues to support the Aspire Liverpool programme which aims to encourage students to apply to our country’s most prestigious universities. Read below accounts from four of our Key Stage 5 students who gained places in the funded residentials to both Oxford and Cambridge organised by Aspire Liverpool each year.

Oxford

The college participates each year in the Aspire Liverpool programme, selecting eligible students to enrol in a series of online and face to face meetings which aim to encourage our students to submit an application to Oxbridge.

Dean & Dylan visited St Peter’s College Oxford as part of the Aspire Liverpool two day residential. The boys felt very welcome upon arrival given that they had already experienced a taster day at Oxford previously. With various subjects available to sample, the boys were able to gain insight into specialisms offered by Oxford such as geology, world economics, physical geography with a focus on extreme weather. Added to these experiences, the boys attended advice and guidance workshops to gain insight of the Oxford specific application process. They were also able to socialise with students from other Liverpool schools who were also considering an Oxbridge application. A fabulous, enriching experience for our students and the college extends it’s thanks to Aspire Liverpool for providing this opportunity. In the words of Dean “The trip and experience made me believe that I could not just only apply but also get a place at Oxford or Cambridge.”

Cambridge

Similarly, Jak and Patrick visited Magdalene College, Cambridge where they enjoyed 2 days courtesy of Aspire Liverpool, gaining invaluable knowledge of life as an undergraduate at Cambridge as well as guidance on the application process. The boys were able to fully immerse themselves in university life and gain a deeper understanding of what studying at a top institution would be like. They were able to explore the college grounds, learning about its history and student life. One of the highlights was punting along the River Cam, which gave the boys time to connect with other students and make new friends from different parts of the country. The residential coincided with the university-wide open day and the boys were lucky enough to explore the city itself. Seeing Cambridge in full flow and meeting current students helped then to imagine themselves in that environment.

In the words of the Jak “The experience built my confidence, expanded my social circle, and showed me the value of stepping into new situations with an open mind.”

CAREERs Fair 2025

Language Leaders

Una tarde llena de enseñanza, felicidad y Español

11 Year 7 students were selected to represent Archbishop Beck as Language Leaders this week. The students were invited into Blessed Sacrament Primary School to teach some Spanish lessons to Year 4 & 5 students.

The language leaders lead games and tasks with the primary children and encouraged good pronunciation of vocabulary. The leaders demonstrated excellent knowledge and courage whilst teaching the classes. The staff at Blessed Sacrament praised our language leaders for their efforts and hard work. Pupils were an absolute credit to the school and themselves.

Viva Espanol

The students delivered two lessons of Spanish for Year 4 pupils. They taught the pupils numbers and animals through a range of interactive activities. They used their language skills to teach pronunciation and phonics to the classes. Both students are going onto complete a work experience placement in education. They were an absolute credit to Archbishop Beck and the staff at Blessed Sacrament praised our leaders on their enthusiasm and attitude towards languages.

A Focus on Higher Education

The end of the year 12 exams saw sixth form attention turn towards the opening of the Higher Education application process. As part of HE planning and preparation, students attended a series of events to build knowledge and understanding of the HE process.

LJMU Visit

The first event was a day long visit to Liverpool John Moores University. The focus of the day was to introduce HE and to give students an insight into the student university experience.
Students received sessions from a team of student advocates on choosing university courses, student finance and how to apply.

University of Liverpool Visit

Day two was a visit to the University of Liverpool. Students were treated to the full university experience, including a tour of the campus and accommodation, and a workshop on creating a new society of the university.

A fun and informative day was enjoyed by all.

UCAS HE Exhibition

The final event was the Higher Education Exhibition and the Exhibition Centre Liverpool. Over 100 universities attend this event to provide information, advice and guidance to students on the university experience and courses available.

Students gained some valuable information as part of their research into HE options for summer 2026. In preparation for university life, students also took advantage of the promotional freebies that many universities offered to attract the students to their stands, leaving the event with bags of sweets and other goodies, as well as the odd prospectus of course!

Oxford University Trip

With this in mind our visit to Oxford University gave our students a real insight into life at one of the best universities in the world. Students experienced at day at St Peter’s College, Oxford with guidance on the application process, a Q & A with current undergraduates, a tour and sample tutorials on science and ethics. All fabulous experiences for the students who returned to college with a real motivation to aim for their very best grades in external examination with many keen to submit a possible application to Oxford in the coming years.

When I was in prison you visited me

On Wednesday 21st May, HMP Altcourse welcomed us into the prison to explore the challenging concept of reform. It was an incredibly interesting day for our three sixth form students who reflected on why people commit crimes, how they deal with their sentencing, who is affected by the crime and sentencing and how faith can play a part in their rehabilitation. We met teams representing all the six recognised world religions in the UK today. It is shocking how many released prisoners reoffend for the security of prison life, that becomes part of their identity. We heard stories from prisoners who turned their lives around when the necessary support was in place, often led by a faith conversion, or by simply being offered dignity and kindness.

It is a humbling experience to experience prison life, especially knowing that many of our students and staff have been affected by crimes or by family members completing a sentence. As a Catholic college we often use the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats from the Gospel of Matthew to inspire us, ‘when I was in prison, you visited me’, this can act as a metaphor to visit prisons and understand more of the story from the prisoner’s perspective which isn’t always heard or acknowledged.

Matthew 25:36

He teaches that when we care for those who are suffering, we are directly serving Him.
By visiting the incarcerated, we are fulfilling a crucial aspect of our Christian duty and extending the love of Christ to those who desperately need it.

Sixth Form Parliament Visit

The annual sixth form visit to the Palace of Westminster is always a highlight, and it is always interesting to meet up with our local MP, Dan Carden.  Dan is MP for Liverpool Walton.

Students got to visit the House of Commons, House of Lords and the Royal Quarters of the palace and enjoyed a question-and-answer session with Dan Carden in Westminster Hall after the tour.

Next stop was the Sky Garden attraction in the City of London.  Students got to enjoy the amazing views of the city, and beyond, from the viewing platform from the famous Walkie Talkie building in the city.

Students enjoyed free time in the afternoon and explored numerous tourist attractions and even hired bicycles to tour the city.  Before the 8pm train home, the group met for an evening meal at pizza hut.

All involved had a brilliant experience, and we are very much looking forward to doing it all again next year!

Leading Women

“The future of our world is only as bright as the future of our girls.” Michelle Obama

Several of our Year 10 girls were invited to support and participate in this year’s “Women who Lead” event in connection with International Women’s Day.

Our students were honoured to be a part of the event as they had the pleasure of meeting:

• • • Toni Duggan – Former England, Everton, Manchester City and Real Madrid Footballer.
    • Layla Wright – Documentary Presenter and Journalist.
    • Kelly Phillips- Co Founder and owner of Unleash by Kelly

Students also had taken part in a variety of workshops which involved: Self Defence, Yoga, Mindfulness/Wellbeing and networking/personal development workshops.

The girls fully enjoyed the experience and hopefully gained some valuable inspiration from our female guest speakers!!

A great event empowering our young students to do their very best in all situations.

Extending Horizons

Year 12 student Evie, was invited to attend an exciting opportunity to participate in a unique Journalism/Reporting workshop at Liverpool Football Club. The event had special guests such as:

Jade Burns (MEDIA & RADIO): Jade Burns is a music lover and experienced radio producer, presenter, and podcaster for the BBC. With over a decade of experience, Jade has worked on various shows, including BBC Introducing and BBC Sounds rail content. She will host a workshop where five selected students will shadow her, gaining hands-on experience in reporting and journalism. They will capture the day’s sessions, take photos and videos, and even possibly conduct an interview.

Emily (Poems by Em): Emily offers personalized, bespoke poetry and art. With over 11k followers on Instagram, she is sharing her poetry through videos and creative prints. Emily will work with students to design short poems focused on what belongs to them and what is important, linking back to the theme of belonging and passion.

Jamie Webster (MUSICIAN): Jamie Webster, a Liverpool-born singer-songwriter, has released three studio albums. He will conclude the day’s event with a short Q&A and performance, showcasing his storytelling through music and lyrics.

The workshop gave Evie a fantastic opportunity for her to learn from industry professionals and engage in creative activities

Evie commented: “I loved the event and the whole experience as well as getting to meet the VIPs, it gave me more of an insight to pursue a career in Journalism, It was really good!”