March 25, 2026 11:43am
For our year 5 pupils, that was the question which local careers expert, Terence Carvalho, unpacked during his visit to Penbridge Junior School.
This year, our focus for Aspirations Week was to help children understand the journeys people take to get to where they are now, rather than what their current job title is.
Terence spoke about the importance of his volunteer work, and how these experiences can help people gain transferable skills for their career.
He explained how volunteering can help if you haven’t got certain qualifications to get a job, and how you can showcase your own examples of solving problems.
“It was amazing to support year 5 at Penbridge Junior School, and what I loved most were their questions about volunteering.
“It’s not just another thing to add to your CV; it provides real life experience by doing something you enjoy”.
Our year 5 pupils loved Terence’s talk, including Posi who said: “The amount of times he volunteers without being paid makes him a really nice person, because he does lots of things for so many other people”.
The session also inspired Liam who found Terence’s story ‘very interesting’, and Emanuel who said, ‘he was great and had so many jobs, which is so cool’.
At Penbridge Junior School, we’re proud to support our pupils to love learning for life, through our key values.
Mrs H. Garty, Assistant Headteacher at Penbridge Junior School, spoke about how Aspirations Week is just one example of how we equip pupils with skills for life.
“Here at Penbridge Junior School, our focus for Aspirations Week helped to strengthen our long‑term mission by helping every student see a future worth striving for.
“It’s giving them the confidence, curiosity, and direction to grow into it.”
Aspirations Week is one of the ways we help pupils maintain high expectations, supporting them to aspire and achieve their goals.