Sixth Form enjoy Higher Education Week

Higher Education Week

Last week’s Higher Education programme saw the culmination of a busy year of Futures-based activities for our Lower Sixth. Content was designed to support informed-decision making about life after A Levels, with a particular focus on ways they could make themselves marketable to prospective employers through both their current activities and future routes such as graduate schemes.

A Flying Start to University Applications

The students made a strong start to their applications, taking time to explore the full range of options, including overseas universities, apprenticeships, and sandwich courses, including a year in industry. Following introductory talks on the personal statement, guidance was also provided by Sara Pittman of Exeter University, following her successful talk at the Futures Fair. By the end of the week all participants had a good draft of their statement, which could also act as the basis for a CV or US application; Lower Sixth Former Naku noted, “The advice on how to write the statement was extremely helpful as was being given time to work on it.”

Exploring Apprenticeships

In an informal session led by Head of Futures Mr Aldridge, Kaiyan Kataria, who is currently undertaking an audit apprenticeship at KPMG, spoke about his experiences, including the application process and what daily life looks like. The talk built upon attendees’ understanding from a previous interview and group activity session and will be followed up in an assessment centre day in the autumn term. Lower Sixth student Ruby said, “The ratio between work and university experience really surprised me, as I hadn’t realised how much time is spent working before attending university sessions. It helped me fully understand the importance of getting hands-on experience within the field.”

Studying Overseas

Students heard from Lucy Bullock, a Division 1 international student athlete at San Diego State University, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Counselling and Social Change. Lucy shared her insights into international applications, student life, and the opportunities available beyond the UK.

Lower Sixth student Rosie shared, “This talk showed me how studying abroad can improve independence, confidence, and communication skills, helping gain a broader perspective, and diversifying your CV. Having international study experience can help you stand out to employers by showing flexibility, independence, and a willingness to take on new challenges.”

Tailored Sessions

Those pursuing medical degrees, law, Oxbridge and applying for other competitive routes took advantage of focused talks and activities. As recent school leavers, several alumni were able to provide first-hand guidance on what makes a strong application and how to stand out in a competitive process. Student Dan noted “I enjoyed the law group as I could gain more tailored feedback; I also enjoyed chatting with law alumni.”

Specialist Talks

A range of specialist talks took place across the week, included information on open days and gap years among others, and saw student Joshua noting, “my favourite aspect was receiving the student finance talk, as I found it extremely informative on how the whole process worked.”

Networking with Alumni

At the conclusion of the week, we welcomed back twenty-one recent alumni with a Q&A session in the Mitre Theatre, followed by group discussions in the Sixth Form Centre covering experiences of university and other pathways. Lower Sixth formers were able to utilise skills gained from a networking session earlier in the year, which they had previously put to the test at the Futures Fair. Sapphy said, “It was good to hear perspectives from alumni who have been in the same position as us, so the advice felt more tailored and less generic.”, while Isabel noted that, “The alumni offered so much helpful advice from so many perspectives”

Alumna Kayla said  “Moving to Trinity as a girl really helped me. I had to make new friends and talk to everyone. It taught me how to approach people—something I’ve had to do again when starting university”, while Freya said, “I loved my gap year. I travelled to Southeast Asia and Dubai, which really built my confidence, and I made lots of new friends. I’m now really looking forward to going to university.”

In all, the week was seen as highly valuable by the students, with Timofey describing it as, “very informative and helpful” and Rahul concluding, “Overall I really enjoyed the week and found it very useful.”