22 Secondary School CV Examples & Templates for 2026

How to Write a Secondary School Student CV

Even with limited or no formal work experience, a well-organised secondary school student CV can still highlight your suitability for the job, achievements, and potential. Focus on your contact information and a concise summary, then proceed to your education, skills, relevant experiences (even if unpaid), and extracurricular activities.

Present your information in a clear and concise format, with consistent headings and bullet points. Before sending your application, consider running your copy through a trusted CV checker to identify areas for improvement.

This section will guide you through each step and show you how to write a CV that stands out by covering:

• Sections every secondary school CV should include
• How to write compelling bullet points for experience
• What to include when you have no work history
• Designing your CV for clarity and readability
• Common mistakes to avoid on student CVs

What should a secondary school student’s CV include?

Dedicate your secondary school student CV to showcasing transferable skills, projects, and achievements that demonstrate your potential to contribute — even without prior job experience. Include the following core sections, each with clear headings, and limit the content to one page if you’re just starting out:

• Contact Information (name, email, phone, LinkedIn)
• Career objective (only if no work experience)
• Education (Grades if equivalent to 2:1 and above, coursework, awards)
• Soft and technical skills from projects and activities
• Extracurricular activities and volunteer work
• Certifications and programmes completed
• Achievements (quantified where possible)

What is the best CV template for secondary school students?

The template you use for your secondary school CV should be:

• Clean and professional without fancy graphics or too much colour: Opt for a clutter-free layout without graphics and other additions. You want the recruiters to focus on what you can do and not distract them with unnecessary decorations.
• ATS-friendly: you should be aware that your application will go through an applicant tracking system (ATS). If you’re not familiar with this, we’re informing you now. These systems don’t handle graphics and elaborate fonts well. Avoid them at all costs. And for an extra point, use bullet points and clearly define your headings for ease of readability. To ensure your document is ready to pass through these challenging screeners, run it through this AI checker.
• Editable in Word or PDF (unless otherwise stated): you’ll edit your CV several times before it’s ready. In that case, templates from Google Docs allow you to edit, save, and share your document from anywhere. It’s also helpful to save and send your application in PDF due to its portability and acceptance by hiring teams.
• Matching your purpose, whether university, first job, or scholarship: For instance, university admission and scholarship boards prefer a classic and simple CV format. On the other hand, media and marketing favour a creative and modern CV design.

Where to find good secondary school CV templates

You can start with our vetted and approved Google Docs CV templates and see if you find something that suits your taste.

However, for a guided and personalised experience when creating your secondary school student CV, this free online CV builder will take you through every step until you have a masterpiece that will beat ATS and receive a standing ovation from recruitment managers.

Should I include a career objective?

Only include a career objective if:

• You have no work experience: it’s a natural course of action for a secondary school student CV without experience to use a career objective. It helps you concentrate more on showcasing your skills and goals for the position you’re aiming for.
• You’re applying to university, scholarships, or work placements: you want a statement that expresses your willingness to learn on the job. This short statement shows your passion for a particular field and makes it easy for recruiters to see your potential even without work experience.
• You want to express your goals clearly: An objective can be that attention-grabbing opportunity to demonstrate your academic and career aspirations.

What makes a strong career objective?

Here’s what it takes to make yours impressive:

• Keeping it concise – one to two sentences can capture the attention of hiring managers. Anything longer will reduce your chances of being noticed.
• Tailor it to the role – you must be deliberate and specific about your application. Explain and demonstrate why you’re the best fit for the available opportunity.
• Optimise your strengths – your skills, achievements, and unique qualities are what you need to make a great first impression.

Good examples of secondary school students’ CV career objectives

To give you an idea of what a good career objective looks like, here are a few examples:

• For university scholarships – “Aspiring computer scientist passionate about problem-solving and software development, eager to utilise coding skills to create impactful technology. Seeking the Durham Tech scholarship to pursue a degree in computer science and contribute to advancements in the field.”
• For first job with no experience – “Compassionate and dedicated nursing graduate, eager to bring strong communication skills and a patient-centred approach to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Committed to learning from experienced professionals while providing excellent patient care and support.”
• For university admissions – “Aspiring law student with a strong passion for justice, critical thinking, and advocacy, eager to make a meaningful impact in the legal field. Seeking admission to Harvard Law School for rigorous academic challenges and to contribute to a diverse community committed to excellence and ethical professionalism.”
• For internship – “Motivated secondary school student with strong analytical skills and a passion for finance, ready to apply classroom knowledge in a practical accounting internship at Gensler. Committed to learning industry best practices while contributing to a dynamic team with attention to detail and a growth mindset.”

How to list education on a secondary school CV

Your education section is your strongest asset because you lack direct or have little to no direct work experience.

Include:

• School Name (with city and county)
• Graduation date (or expected)
• average grade (if above 3.5)
• Relevant coursework for the industry you wish to enter
• Honours and awards
• Extracurricular involvement

Example of a good education section:

What are transferable skills, and how can I demonstrate them?

Transferable skills are the practical lessons and abilities you gained from school, clubs, work placements, or volunteering that apply to work or university.

Here’s how to do that correctly:

Skills from projects and coursework

Even without work experience, you’ve gained relevant skills through group projects, extracurricular activities, and coursework. These can include:

• Time management – completing and submitting assignments before deadlines
• Writing and research skills – developed through essay and report writing for lab experiments
• Communication and presentation – class presentations and society debates
• Problem-solving – maths quizzes and practical science projects

How to showcase extracurricular activities

Highlight your extracurricular activities to demonstrate potential, ability to lead, and solve real-world problems. Identify the most relevant ones, and use bullet points to emphasise impact, leadership, and commitment. Examples you can add to your CV include:

• Technical skills – acquired from the robotics club, coding, and web development group, managing social media page for wildlife club
• Creativity – drama festivals, art & music societies
• Teamwork and leadership – being the captain of the football team, the student union vice president
• Event planning – organising club meetings, fundraising events, and environmental conservation days

Skills from community and voluntary work

Don’t let your role in community service and volunteer work go to waste when you can use them to demonstrate valuable skills as follows:

• Strong work ethic and passion – supporting a noble cause without expecting any reward
• Planning and organisation – creating and planning activities for participants
• Customer service – participating in charity events and food banks and playing a role in mobilising donations

Emphasise soft skills

Just like technical skills, employers value soft skills that are transferable to a real workplace, such as:

• Attention to detail
• Excellent communication
• Initiative
• Adaptability
• Positive attitude
• Interpersonal skills

How do I measure my achievements?

Numbers ensure your CV stands out in both AI summaries and human reviews.

Instead of:

Assisted in organising school fundraiser

Write:

Organised a charity event raising £1,500 for animal shelters with over 70 attendees

Instead of:

Wrote articles for a school magazine

Write:

Published 22 articles each year for 2 consecutive years, increasing readership by 28% in 2024

Examples of measurable achievement bullet points

• Managed over 51 table bookings per day through SevenRooms, ensuring efficient seating arrangements
• Monitored and updated over 1,780 inventory items in real-time through Square POS, preventing product shortages
• Drafted 22 articles per term for the campus newsletter, increasing newsletter readership by 8%

What are strong action verbs for a secondary school CV?

Active verbs emphasise action, outcomes, and add a spark to the value you hold. Here are some grouped for quick access:

• Collaboration and teamwork: Supported, assisted, collaborated, and partnered
• Initiative and leadership: Led, supervised, coordinated, initiated, and managed
• Achievements: Optimised, surpassed, completed, accomplished, and awarded
• Problem-solving: Streamlined, improved, resolved, created, and designed
• Communication: Presented, explained, informed, educated, and advised
• Planning/managing: Scheduled, organised, planned, arranged, and executed

Common mistakes to avoid on secondary school CVs

• Ambiguous statements
• Spelling and grammar mistakes
• Irrelevant experience (e.g., Year 5 merit list)
• Dense paragraphs without bullet points
• Overly formatted templates

Key points

• Tailor for the specific role – read the job description or the university admission or scholarship requirements.
• Do your homework about the employer/school/programme – before writing your secondary school CV, research your prospective employer, the school, or the scholarship programme you’re applying to.
• Quantify your achievements – you may lack industry-specific experience, but that doesn’t stop you from demonstrating measurable impact from projects and other voluntary activities.
• Be concise—you’re not writing your life story, and recruiters don’t expect it anyway. A one-page CV is sufficient to demonstrate your value and have the admissions board and HR teams invite you for an interview.
• No room for errors – how do you, for instance, expect to crunch numbers for a giant retail company serving millions of customers each month when your CV is full of grammatical mistakes?
• Write for both ATS and humans – before your CV gets a chance to be reviewed by a human, it has to pass through online screeners.
• Finally, to ensure your CV is optimised for ATS, use ourCV scanner to check its effectiveness.