Careers

Whatever their plans, students are offered extensive careers guidance and are encouraged to investigate a wide range of post-school options.

The majority of Sixth Form students progress into higher education. However, with the recent growth in highly attractive degree apprenticeship schemes, increasing numbers of students are also giving serious consideration to this option. The Careers Department is there to help students individually to find the course or apprenticeship that is right for them. Art foundation courses are another popular choice for students who have studied A Level Art subjects and some students go on to take Gap Years. Support with university applications remains available to those making an application after leaving school.

Many students find it helpful to have individual interviews with the Head of Careers whose full-time role is to advise students and organise careers events. In keeping with our commitment to provide students with outstanding university and careers guidance and tailored support when choosing their next step after school, we also use Unifrog, an award-winning, online university and careers platform. Students and parents get access to this excellent website. Unifrog brings into one place every undergraduate university course, apprenticeship, and college course in the UK, as well as other opportunities, such as School Leaver Programmes, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and every college at Oxford and Cambridge. This makes it easy for students to compare and choose the best university courses, apprenticeships or further education courses for them. They can also explore exciting opportunities further afield by looking at English-taught undergraduate programmes available in Europe and the USA. Additionally, the platform can help students successfully apply for these opportunities by providing further advice for writing personal statements, applications and CVs.

University preparation starts in Year 12 when all students are encouraged to read around their A Level courses. There are a number of talks for students and parents about the University entrance process, beginning in January of Year 12. Students receive one-to-one guidance and support from teachers and Tutors to help each student to find the right university for them as an individual. Furthermore, the school currently employs a Universities Consultant to ensure that students are getting the best possible advice. This Consultant also works to prepare Oxbridge, Medicine, Veterinary Science and Dentistry applicants for interview.

We also host Law and Medicine Days using specialist external facilitators. During the Sixth Form, our weekly Careers Lunches see visiting speakers from a range of careers (including past students) come into the school to talk about their experiences and entry routes into their professions. This comprehensive programme of careers events is complemented by other activities offered in the Sixth Form, such as the Student Consultancy (management consultancy projects) and Young Enterprise (setting up and running a business). These provide further opportunities to develop employability skills by offering students the chance to be involved in real world business situations.

The Careers Department also provides assistance to students wishing to apply for places on the Year in Industry scheme, Headstart STEM Courses and the scholarship schemes offered by companies such as Price Waterhouse Coopers and Deloitte. We also manage a range of exciting travel grants for Year 12 students, which are funded by The Old Berkhamstedians.

Due to an increasing interest in undergraduate studies overseas, the Head of International Universities is available to advise, guide and support students in their applications to countries around the world. Students at Berkhamsted who are receiving offers to degree programs outside of the UK are growing in numbers, and we provide individualised support to students, working alongside form tutors, subject teachers and the UCAS and Careers team to complete the application process, which runs alongside the UCAS applications in Year 12. Students have received places on undergraduate courses in the USA, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and China, as well as in several countries within Europe, alongside their offers in the UK through UCAS.

The Careers Department is able to provide advice on work experience placements and signposts students to interesting opportunities via a regular Careers Newsletter. The work experience placements give the students an opportunity to learn about the workplace environment first-hand, understand the expectations of employers and prepare for life outside school. It also provides valuable experience to include on university or apprenticeship application forms. It is our expectation that all students will organise their own placement, with support and guidance from the Careers Department. We believe this will give them useful experience of how they might approach the process of seeking employment in the future. Students secure positions in a wide range of local and London-based companies as well as with other organizations such as hospitals, veterinary practices, charities, the Army and the courts; some even venture abroad to gain international work experience.