“I am about to choose my subjects for staying on in the sixth form – I am really serious about studying Biochemistry at university.”
Serena, Year 11
Higher Education and Careers
A structured programme of careers support and guidance geared to the needs of grammar school students, is provided by Highsted. The aim is to enable students to achieve their full career potential by: raising awareness of individuals’ abilities and skills; broadening knowledge of opportunities in Further/Higher Education, training and employment; and developing the skills necessary to make informed decisions.
The Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance programme is delivered through our Pastoral curriculum sessions, which occur during dedicated form times, Education for Life Days, as well as through subject specific lesson time and lunchtime sessions. As part of the programme students also receive individual interviews by specialist staff, as well as talks from external agencies, including the Education People, to raise awareness of different career routes. Work experience plays an important part in increasing pupils’ understanding of the world of employment and is carried out in Year 12/13. The career journey at Highsted starts in Year 6, during transition and continues through to Year 13.
In year 7 students are provided with logins to Unifrog – The UKs largest online careers library, updated every 24 hours with career opportunities. Students continue to have access to this platform as they progress through the school. University prospectuses and careers information books are also held in our Learning Resource Centre, available for students to access at breaktimes and lunchtimes. The careers platform on the shared drive enables students to easily access links to online resources, as well as containing guidance on the use of platforms such as Unifrog and UCAS. It also contains information on visiting speakers in the Highsted Lecture Series.
The programme for Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) includes:
Year 7: Development of the character virtues; reflection of inspirational figures.
Year 8: Skills audit and career exploration; diversity in the workplace with specific reference to STEM careers.
Year 9: Preparation for option choices; self-awareness; decision making and Barclays Life Skills.
Year 10: The importance of VESPA, explorations of routes into careers and preparation of CVs.
Year 11: Post-16 programme to include raising awareness of post-16 options; application processes; and engagement with the Employment Community support programme.
Years 12/13: Employment post A-level opportunities: application procedures; student finance; interview techniques; visiting speakers from employment and Further/Higher education; as well as the Sutton Trust residential.
Careers Strategy & Provision
To read our Careers Education: Information, Advice & Guidance Policy and find out more about our detailed Careers programme and related curriculum activities, please follow this link.
To view our current Careers Year Plan 2021-22, please follow this link.
The Link Governor for the Careers Strategy is Mrs Sarah Drury, who may be contacted through the school (please click here.)
Miss Sarah Appleton is the Careers Leader in school. Please click here to access our contact page.
Higher Education
A Sixth Form student's life can be hard!
From the effort required to work for A-levels – probably the most important exams in a student’s life – there are some tough decisions to be made about what students want to do afterwards. These need lots of research, letter writing, form filling and self-analysis!
At Highsted students appreciate that achieving high grades at A-level keeps doors open: there are many more institutions and courses open to students with A and B grades at A-level, than those with D and E grades.
Students are supported through their Pastoral Curriculum, the Higher Education Information Evening and the Careers Convention about the options that are available to them post-18. The provision enables students to meet admissions tutors from a variety of institutions across the country as well as those individuals who are currently in professional roles within the employment sector. In addition to this provision, all sixth form students attend the Finance Road Show in order to support them with budgeting post-18. Highsted hosts visiting speaker workshops from Oxbridge in addition to running our own bespoke lecture programme across a variety of academic subjects geared at preparing students for life at university.
The majority of students go on to study at university level after Highsted, however those choosing to access employment are supported with individualised independent information, guidance and advice to enable them to make a smooth transition into the world of work.
Some useful websites and recommended reading:
For course and university research and a source of general information and advice:
http://education.guardian.co.uk Guardian League Tables
For information about standards and ratings:
www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk
www.qaa.ac.uk Quality Assurance Agency (for Higher Education)
www.skill.org.uk The National Bureau for Students with disabilities
Financial advice and budgeting: