_(1).jpg "The Key Stages")
Selecting appropriate universities, courses, apprenticeships, gap year opportunities or employment requires careful consideration and research.
Current students, as well as those who have left the school, are fully supported by the Higher Education and Careers team. We offer a comprehensive programme to guide students and ensure that they leave Sherborne Girls equipped for success at university and in the workplace.
A variety of activities are on offer to give the girls a head-start in their decision-making process, including the opportunity to visit university open days, a Higher Education day with personal statement workshop, as well as a talk from a university admissions tutor. Following the Higher Education day students receive bespoke support from their personal tutor and the Sixth Form team as they prepare university applications. The school’s ‘Guide to Higher Education’ is also published each year to update girls and their parents on their options.
Students who are interested in applying to Oxbridge visit Oxford University, are taken to an outreach conference and attend events with local schools including an interview evening at Sherborne School in November. A Mini Multiple Interview practice session is run for girls applying for courses such as Medicine and Nursing, and any girl invited for an interview at a university can request a mock interview.
Information is also available for those students who are interested in applying to American and European Universities. SAT preparation classes for those intending to apply to the US are held in conjunction with Sherborne School from the start of each Michaelmas Term.
In addition to scheduled activities, the department has an ‘open door’ policy for girls, and they are warmly invited to seek advice at any time.
Careers education begins when the girls first join us and continues throughout their time at Sherborne Girls. Each year group has a personalised programme that focuses on age-appropriate careers education and prepares them for their next step, be that understanding their skills and areas of interest, selecting GCSE subjects, seeking work experience, choosing post-16 options or making plans for life beyond Sherborne Girls. We carefully select a range of external speakers and experts to work with and invite these guests to contribute to tailored careers workshops for each year group. Throughout the year, speakers from a range of industries are invited to talk to groups of girls interested in their field and a half-termly newsletter is circulated, detailing opportunities, such as virtual internships, that the girls may wish to take advantage of.
As girls move through the school their careers advice, information and guidance will become more personalised. In addition to one-to-one meetings with their tutors, girls can see the Careers Coordinator, Mr Jonathan Casely, at any time.
When the girls reach the Sixth Form, we offer a range of: interviews, visits, advice sessions, talks and networking events which aim to help the girls decide the best path for them after school. We also offer a Careers Networking Service through our Old Girls Office; former students are regularly in touch to offer advice, training, work placements or job opportunities, and our Old Girls Office regularly arranges workshops and visits to Old Girls working in specific industries.
Some of our pupils choose not to attend university full-time, and there are now several different modes of study available that are valuable alternatives to a traditional undergraduate degree. The landscape of higher and further education is changing rapidly and the opportunities for young people are more varied than ever before. Our Sixth Form team can help each pupil to find the path after Sherborne Girls that suits her best.
In line with government recommendations and in compliance with the 'Baker Clause', we educate our pupils (and their parents) about the wide variety of apprenticeships that are available to them after they have completed their A Levels. Mr David Banks is the dedicated member of staff who advises pupils on apprenticeships, and any girl who decides to apply for an apprenticeship will be supported and guided through the processes by Mr Banks, her tutor and teachers.
Girls are also made aware of the technical education available and other specialist HE courses, for instance, at art or music colleges, specialist equine study or independent schools of training for business, to name several options. It is possible to apply for university degree courses simultaneously with any other option, including to universities abroad.
In Year 11 pupils are told about courses that FE colleges and Technical Colleges offer for education post 16, although almost all our GCSE pupils choose to stay at Sherborne Girls for A Level courses in the Sixth Form.
Regular events in and out of school (such as our annual Careers Fair in March) allow providers of all kinds of qualifications an opportunity to inform pupils of alternative paths.
