University is the option that the majority of our Post 16 students take and often to the top performing Russell Group of universities. We get them started on this process very early and a lot of work done by students in Form Time, Personal Development sessions and independently throughout Year 12 has been aimed at preparing them for this. The students will all be registering with UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) and are beginning to draft their personal statements. They will receive ongoing support and guidance with this from their Form Tutors. Each student also meets with me for final comments. The Pathways Coordinator will check all the other aspects of their application, advise on university choices and finalise references for the students. Each student can meet with the Pathways Coordinator as many times as they need, to ensure a high quality application that will appeal to admissions tutors at universities.

If your child is considering an application for medicine, dentistry or veterinary science, or for any subject at Oxford or Cambridge, they will have an earlier UCAS deadline than other students – 6PM on the 15th October. For other students, the official UCAS deadline is the 14th  of January, but it is advisable for students to engage with this early: the earlier they apply, the better their chances of getting offers from their preferred universities.

For most courses at most universities there are no admissions tests or interviews. In cases where there will be a test or interview, students will be supported in their preparation both by the Pathways Coordinator and by relevant subject specialists on the school staff.

Apprenticeships can offer an excellent (and paid) route into many careers. There are now apprenticeships available in almost every field and their main advantages are that they offer practical experience from the outset as well as usually leading to the apprentice’s first job on completion of the apprenticeship period. Unifrog offers all of our students the most user-friendly system we know of for finding apprenticeship opportunities.

Applications for apprenticeships are made directly to the sponsoring companies and there is no centralised system for them, unlike with the universities, although more and more apprenticeships can now be found through UCAS – another reason why we urge all students to register with this platform. A typical application process will involve completing an online form after which some applicants will be selected for interview (often via video conferencing) and then an ‘assessment day’, which can involve further interviews, testing and group exercises. That process can be daunting for anyone, but especially for 17 and 18 year olds making their first applications. We are well practised at helping students prepare for and build their confidence ahead of these interviews and assessments. They just need to give us timely notice of them, so that the support can be put in place.

Degree Apprenticeships offer the ‘best of both worlds’ of university and an apprenticeship. The application process is very similar to what is described above for standard apprenticeships. The key difference is that the student will also achieve a degree level qualification (or higher) alongside gaining all the practical experience with the sponsoring organisation. The providing organisation will also pay all of the university fees for the degree as well as a salary. The financial advantages of this are so great as to make it a ‘must consider’ option for any student. Degree apprenticeships are now available in a huge range of fields including, for the first time this year, medicine. Other fields that were traditionally only open to university graduates, such as law, accounting and finance, also now have well established degree apprenticeship routes into the professions. Most apprenticeships are advertised on the Government’s apprenticeship page.

Some students will want to go directly into work. We support them with advice on CVs, application forms and preparation for interviews, as well as posting career opportunities on our dedicated Careers Blog – which all students have access to via their Queensmead School Google accounts.

Whilst this could involve almost anything, the key is for the time to provide useful experiences rather than an unexplained time gap on a future CV. A student considering a gap year needs to give it the same careful thought as would any student identifying university or apprenticeship opportunities and we are experienced in giving advice on the value of any proposed activities. UCAS provides some good tips and advice for any student considering a gap year.

All students should be part of the Queensmead School Careers Blog (this can be accessed via the Google Classroom) – regular opportunities for work experience, open days and apprenticeships are posted here. Students can click HERE to join.

Appointments are available Monday – Wednesday all year round with our school Careers Advisor, Miss Howells. Request an appointment HERE.

Mr Gallagher, Pathways Coordinator, will deliver regular assemblies and provide meeting slots for students to sit and discuss their options.

All students have a Uniforg.org account which they can use to create shortlists of universities and apprenticeships.