The Flagpole

Work Experience Placements at Princethorpe College, as part of our Careers programme, take place at the end of Year 11.  We believe that all pupils can gain immeasurable benefits from their placements; not only can a good placement teach a pupil a lot about an area of work that he or she may be interested in, but it can also develop communication skills, self-confidence, initiative and teamwork.

Work Experience takes place after the GCSE examinations, generally starting from the last week of June, at any time that is convenient during the holidays, for a minimum of one week. It is perfectly feasible for pupils to undertake more than one placement if desired. It is usual for pupils to find a placement through family/friends contacts at this stage.

So that I can complete the necessary paperwork, possible references and so on, I'd be grateful if you could you let me know the company name and contact details, for the placement(s) you have arranged either by return of the slip attached to the letter sent to you in June, or by email to me miketaylor@princethorpe.co.uk. 

If you need a hard copy of the original letter, please could you ask your son or daughter to ask me for one at school.

Mike Taylor
Work Experience Co-ordinator

The Careers team are about halfway through interviewing all the Year 11 pupils and will aim to have completed this by the end of this term. There will be the chance for pupils to have follow up appointments next term where required. 

Unifrog: this Thursday, during Life Skills, pupils were introduced to an online progression platform called Unifrog. This platform is already being used extensively to support Sixth Form students through the process of planning their next steps after A-levels. We have launched it with Year 11 pupils to encourage and enable them to become better informed when choosing their A-levels or deciding on their futures and also better prepared when it comes to making any future applications. 

Unifrog has many tools and, as well as providing an easy solution to searching for university course requirements and apprenticeships, it also provides an opportunity for pupils to record their activities and evidence for later applications to universities and employers. The pupils have been encouraged to use these tools and have been given an outline of when they should have completed each stage.  The same timeline document is attached here.

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

The internal deadline for applications to university through UCAS is Friday 17 November. By this date, students should have completed all sections of the UCAS form. They should also 'pay and send'.

The form which doesn't, at this stage, go to UCAS, will then be checked thoroughly by College staff before the reference is added and the application is sent to UCAS. Please be aware that this checking and reference writing stage can take up to two weeks.

Please feel free to email me with any queries regarding this process.

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

18-19 November 2017

The National Healthcare Weekend on 18 and 19 November is taking place in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Nottingham and Lancaster.

Over 30 conferences on different specialties on the same day! Eight hundred healthcare professionals from across the United Kingdom will be volunteering to present and network pupils who are interested in:

• Medicine
• Veterinary Medicine
• Nursing & Midwifery
• Dentistry
• Pharmacy
• Biomedical Sciences
• Psychology

These conferences provide a valuable opportunity for pupils to network with a variety of healthcare professions, learn about work experience opportunities and how to make a successful application.

Registration is £25 for pupils on the Saturday conferences and there is an optional UCAS lecture available on Sunday for each specialty.  Please note that these events are likely to fill up quickly!

Pupils can register on the Medic Mentor website and find out more about events here.

All proceeds from the weekend will be used to support UK's healthcare students with scholarships, elective bursaries, free training and educational initiatives.

The careers team are keen to involve parents as much as possible in assisting with the decisions your children will be making when choosing a career and their next step. As such, I will be passing on information that might be useful to you.

Please see the articles below for information regarding the following:

• Studying Medicine in Europe
• A Career as a Doctor - Medical Insight Course
• Loud Higher Education E-Magazine
• New Model in Technology and Engineering University, Hereford
• Law Apprenticeships
• Details of New Degree Apprenticeships
• Nurse Apprenticeships at Nine More Universities

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Coordinator

If you are considering studying medicine in Europe, Medical Doorway have two open days planned for 11 November and 12 November in Manchester and London.  Click here for details.

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

Monday 5 February to Wednesday 7 February 2018

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust are running a three day course for Sixth Form students to help them to decide if medicine is for them and to improve any application they make. 

Click here for details.

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

I am delighted to share with you details of a new e-magazine edition of Loud which has just launched.

Loud is an informative and supportive guide for sixteen to nineteen year olds, to assist them with their next stage in higher education.

The quarterly magazine contains vital information written by students to help students make the right choices about which university course or apprenticeship to take.

Please click here to view the current edition.

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

NMiTE, the New Model in Technology and Engineering University is being created to offer a new model of world quality, high value technology and engineering education. NMiTE will start to recruit students in 2018 for 2019 entry. Click here for further details.

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

If you are considering a law career but feel university is not for you or you are put off by the tuition fees, then a law apprenticeship may be the answer. Click here for details.

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

Twenty-seven new degree apprenticeships which will support up to four thousand, five-hundred apprentices have been announced, involving sixty-three universities and colleges. Click here for further details.

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

Nurse apprenticeships are to be offered by nine further universities in England from September 2018, following a national funding announcement. Click here to read more.

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

The College Careers Fair 2018 will be held on the morning of Saturday 17 March. The Fair is open to Year 10 to Sixth Form pupils and their parents. It will provide a ‘one stop careers shop’ with a wide range of speakers and organisations on hand to offer advice and guidance on careers, universities, apprenticeships, internships and gap year options.

The event will run from 10.00am to 1.00pm and, as before, will include a keynote speaker and career path workshops with presentations and Q and A sessions from parents and Old Princethorpians. Attendees will be able to attend up to three workshops depending on their personal interests.

The Fair will also include an A-Z career zone with stalls from many well-known companies, charities, institutions, universities and gap year advisers for pupils and their parents to explore.

Comments, Jacqui Quinney, Head of Careers, “This is a really key event for our senior pupils. It will provide important information and advice to help them develop their career choices. Please do make a note of the date now, so as to not miss out on this very valuable opportunity.”

More details of the event will be published after Christmas.