The Flagpole

This term Lower Sixth students will start to find out about the options available to them after the Sixth Form. We will be holding sessions in Life Skills and CoRE, as well as visiting the UCAS Conference at the University of Worcester and inviting parents to an information evening. 

The full programme of events is as follows:

Life Skills/CORE:

• Thursday 1 March 2018 - Visiting Speaker: Fred Binley, Southampton University - Why go to university?
• Thursday 8 March 2018 - Jacqui Quinney - How to apply for university and apprenticeships
• Thursday 15 March 2018 - Visiting Speaker: Aston University - Degree Apprenticeships: what are they and how to get one

Parents' Workshop Evening - Thursday 1 March 2018, 18.00-21.00

Not to be missed, this evening of workshops will provide you with all the information and knowledge you need to support your son or daughter through the decision-making and application process. Please note this is for parents only as students will be receiving the information in their own sessions during the school day. The provisional programme for the evening includes:

• Fred Binley, Southampton University - Why go to university
• Aston University - Degree apprenticeships
• Warwick University - Student finance and funding
• Unifrog and UCAS - A parents' guide
• Loughborough University - A parents' guide to personal statements

There will be a break during the evening when a buffet and refreshments will be served, this will also provide parents with an opportunity to talk to our visiting speakers.

Please confirm your attendance by clicking here.

UCAS Conference Thursday 22 March 2018

We aim to take all Lower Sixth students to this conference where they will have the opportunity to meet representatives from hundreds of universities. An Evolve consent form has been sent out for you to grant consent for your child to attend.

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:

• National Healthcare Careers Weekend: 24 - 25 March, 2018
• University of London Taster Courses
• New Apprenticeship Website - www.AllAboutApprenticeships.com
• University of Oxford - MFL News
• Nationwide Degree Apprenticeship Opportunities with Morrisons

Jacqui Quinney
Head of Careers and UCAS Co-ordinator

24-25 March 2018

The National Healthcare Weekend on 24 and 25 March 2018 is taking place in London, Cardiff and Birmingham.

Over two hundred healthcare professionals form across the UK will be volunteering to present and network with students who are interested in:

• Medicine
• Veterinary Medicine
• Dentistry
• 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.

Not sure what university life will be like? Why not try one of the University of London's one-day courses for sixth formers?

The Taster Course Programme provides Lower Sixth Form students with a taste of what life at a university in London is like. Through your chosen taster course you will experience the different teaching methods used by university academics and gain an insight into the additional facilities available, whilst meeting students from across the UK.

All of their taster courses are free to attend and you can choose a course from a variety of subjects taking place at the numerous participating universities. Courses range from voice and drama, to medicine and nursing, to computing and business.

The taster courses take place at various times throughout the year but mainly between February and July. All courses are free of charge, students are responsible for their own travel and food expenses.

The courses offer you an insight into study at university and the opportunity of attending a course that you may be interested in but are not sure about at this stage. The experience will also enable you to check out the non-teaching facilities provided by the university. You will get the chance to meet with other students on the taster course and undergraduate students studying at the university.

click here to watch the video

AllAboutApprenticeships.co.uk is a new website brought to you by the team at AllAboutSchoolLeavers, where you will find listings of the very best apprenticeship vacancies available today.

You can search for apprenticeships by location, industry, and apprenticeship level; whilst the job descriptions and employer profiles will give in-depth detail of what they’re looking for and what training each apprenticeship offers.

When it comes to apprenticeships, just remember these three As: AllAboutApprenticeships.

Please see the below news updates from the University of Oxford Modern Languages Faculty:

Open Days

A reminder that the Modern Languages Faculty at Oxford will be running language-specific open days over the coming weeks:

• 24 February 2018: German
• 1 March 2018: Spanish and Portuguese
• 3 March 2018: Russian and other Slavonic Languages
• 17 March 2018: Italian

Please do attend if you are interested in these languages. Booking is required, via the faculty website here. Unfortunately, their general open day in April is fully booked but the faculty will also be open during the University Open Days on 27 and 28 June 2018, and 14 September 2018. Booking for these will open in the Spring. Please note: there is no open day for French, although French tutors will be present at the April and June and September 2018 open days.

Virtual Book Club
The first episode of the book club for Sixth Formers launched last week and is available to view here. That episode focussed on a Russian text. The next episode will focus on an extract of French literature. To sign up and receive a copy of the text under discussion (in the foreign language and in English translation), or to find out more, please use the email link here.

Language Competitions
Competitions in French, Spanish and German are now open for entries. In French, students are invited to re-imagine the ending of a film. In Spanish, they are invited to submit a short story of one hundred words or fewer. In German, a range of activities on the theme of ‘Freundschaft – Friendship’ are offered as part of the German Olympiad. For more information, please see their website here.

Unsure whether to start your career or study towards a degree? Morrisons are giving hard-working school and college leavers the chance to have the best of both worlds.

Delivered in partnership with the University of Bradford and Sheffield Hallam University, students can now work towards a BSc (Hons) Management and Business Degree while preparing for a management career within their unique food retail business.

Not only do they pay all the course fees (including study leave travel and accommodation costs), but you get to work and earn a salary while studying – so money is never a concern.

They are looking for resilient and determined students to join them in these programmes:

• Logistics Degree Apprenticeship
• Manufacturing Degree Apprenticeship
• Retail Degree Apprenticeship
• Corporate Degree Apprenticeship

To find out more about these apprenticeships and to hear from some of their current apprentices visit their website here.

What are they looking for? Resilience, determination, flexibility and good leadership skills. Students will need a minimum of 104 UCAS points. In 2018 they are recruiting over seventy Degree Apprentices across England.

Their website has got lots of FAQs, a parent zone, insights into their benefits and development programmes. Visit it here.

The deadline for applications is Monday 12 March 2018 but they are encouraging students to register their interest and start completing their application as soon as possible.

click here to watch the video