Our annual Careers and Guidance Day took place on 15 May with a variety of university presentations, a pop up fair with local employers and universities and then afternoon advice from a range of alumni and parents. We are indebted to all those who participated and value the links with parents and alumni enormously.

In the post Covid era, where most universities now focus on physical and virtual careers fairs and are reluctant to visit individual schools, we were delighted to be joined by representatives from the universities of Durham, Lancaster, Newcastle, Nottingham, Manchester, Oxford Brookes and Warwick. This was in addition to more local universities such as the College of West Anglia and Suffolk, as far reaching as Plymouth and as diverse as specialist colleges such as University of the Creative Arts London. The morning featured university talks on student life; student finance; applying to competitive universities; how to choose a course; and acing the personal statement. This was punctuated by our pop up fair, increasing in participants each year. Here students were free to meet the 35 organisations represented to discuss graduate recruitment; how their degree of interest might be used in a variety of company and organisation settings; and discussing work experience and internship opportunities. We were delighted to have a broad range of expertise, from hospice care and medical settings, to a variety of engineering companies; from genetic engineering and consultancy, to global leadership, banking and pharmaceuticals, to name a few.

During the afternoon, students narrowed down their interests by selecting three subject specific breakout rooms for advice and free questioning to our bank of parents and alumni who had volunteered to speak with them online. Our presenters had shared their initial A level choices, degree(s) and subsequent career routes leading them to their current employment. It was eye opening for students to see the variety of routes their A levels might take them, to find that in most cases career routes are not linear and to hear tips from their experiences at the variety of universities our students are currently considering. Many students discovered degree options and careers previously not considered, in addition to the wealth of networking opportunities raised throughout the day. 

We were equally delighted to welcome Mike Nicholson, Director of Student Admissions at the University of Cambridge, to our evening event, along with university representatives from the morning, and members of our Guidance team. Mike and university colleagues answered a range of parent questions on university admissions, changes and current trends. This was preceded by a presentation on the increasingly popular Degree Apprenticeships by Dr Curry and Oxbridge (including Imperial) applications by Mr Rudd. Following the University Q&A session, Ms Paris then gave an overview of our internal support of applications and how parents can fully support students. It was a long day, but the enthusiasm from students kept both staff and presenters engaged with their well-prepared questions.

The day formed part of the ongoing Year 12-13 Guidance Programme, which supports students' applications to degree apprenticeships, UK universities and universities abroad. We hope students are reaping the benefits from tutorial sessions on writing personal statements, work experience, signing up to UCAS, university course choices and the many other components of this two year programme.