REACH for the stars was the message at the Pewsey Vale School Careers Fair on February 5, when students gained insights into a variety of potential careers.

Assistant headteacher Chantal Dean said: “We have outstanding students at the school and we want them all to follow their super north star and to achieve their full potential.”

The careers event was a chance to see the world outside with a range of possibilities from space travel to publishing and from the military to manufacturing and everything in between.

School governor Judith Barclay said: “As vice-chair of the governors and representing Marlborough College, it was a real pleasure to see such a cross section of post 16 education providers supporting the event.

“The opportunities are endless and I’m sure every student found some inspiration for their career aspirations during their visit to the various exhibitors.

“The students of all ages behaved impeccably and the navigators did a great job helping guide the younger pupils from Pewsey Primary around the hall. Needless to say the star attraction was the astronaut who drew a consistently large audience.”

Dr Mindy Howard, selected by NASA as an astronaut gave a talk on how she had chosen a career that would see her on a future space mission.

Students were given a window into the worlds of cyber security with experts on hand to explain their work at GCHQ while the Army were present to give advice on a range of trades, skills and professions available as one of the county’s largest employers.

Many local firms were there along with post 16 colleges and sixth forms offering A-levels and a potential route to University.

When students leave Pewsey Vale School they move on to a wide variety of places said the assistant head teacher.

Some will go straight into work, others to apprenticeships and training courses.

More than half will go on to do A levels with one scholarship open to a student at Marborough College.

St John’s in Marlborough accept a good number, but others will attend Wiltshire College and schools in Swindon and Salisbury.

Chantal Dean said that the future of the world lay in the classrooms of the school and the potential of the students was unlimited.

She said the idea behind students seeking their career goals guided by a north star was based around the compass entitled The Compass for Life programme.

North was their chosen direction in life she said, while East represented their ethos and the values they wished to abide by in their career.

South she said was the strategy they would use to achieve their goals that would include choosing the right subjects and training.

Finally, West represented a warrior spirit which was vital as everyone needed to banish fears and build self-confidence on their mission in seeking their Super North Star.