Director of Higher Education and Careers: Mrs Ruth Greenhalgh rag@sevenoaksschool.org
Assistant Director of Higher Education: Mrs Wendy Heydorn wjh@sevenoaksschool.org
Virtually all of our Sixth Form leavers go on to University. All Sixth Form students receive specialist individual attention from the Higher Education and Careers Department and general guidance from Tutors. The importance we attach to Higher Education and Careers guidance is illustrated by its spacious premises at the heart of the school in the Aisher Hall.
The Careers Centre is open from 8am to 8pm during term time and contains a full set of university prospectuses, in addition to many other technical as well as literary resources about higher education in Britain and abroad. Information about careers and gap year opportunities is also available.
Computers are available in the department to allow access to internet resources and dedicated software, such as Kudos, WorkBrief, Careerscape and Pathfinder+HE.
In response to increasing interest in US universities, there is also a careers adviser able to give specialist guidance and advice on the processes involved in applying to the USA and Canada. Interested students can also take a SATs preparation course, organised by the school and run by a professional test preparation company, Studyworks.
Our students have been highly successful in obtaining places at top-ranking universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. See here for more information about university destinations.
Year 11 Careers Fair
The Careers Programme begins in the Middle School with all members of Year 10 taking part in the Cambridge Profile aptitude test devised by Cambridge Occupational Analysts (www.coa.co.uk), followed by an individual interview with a careers adviser. In Year 11 a week’s work experience is organised by the Department, with all work placements being checked for health and safety by the East Kent Education and Business Partnership.
In the Lent Term of the Lower Sixth, students are introduced to the facilities of the Careers Centre and begin discussions with tutors and careers staff about careers and higher education. Every member of the Lower Sixth is interviewed individually by the Head of Careers and given guidance for further research. There are regular talks on degree courses by careers staff and university specialists as well as more general topics, such as gap years. At the beginning of February, a Careers Fair takes place with the support of the Parents’ Association; here students have the opportunity to meet over 50 representatives of different professions. At the end of the term, students are encouraged to take Centigrade (www.coa.co.uk), which is a computer-based programme matching their interests and abilities to available degree courses.
In the summer term we hold an Oxbridge Evening, as well as a Higher Education Evening when university application procedures and strategies are explained to Lower Sixth students and their parents. Throughout the term students are encouraged to attend Open Days and Taster Courses and to use the resources in the Careers Centre to research their options. Before the summer holidays, and in the light of the results of their internal exams (sat in May), they have a further individual careers interview.
Members of the Upper Sixth are encouraged to seek further advice in the Michaelmas Term, at which time firm decisions are made about plans on leaving school. All university and other applications (including Art Colleges and international applications) are completed by the end of term. Subject-specific assistance is also provided by academic departments.
An Interview Training Programme run by an independent professional organisation is open to all Upper Sixth Formers in November; it is designed to help pupils for Oxbridge and other university interviews which take place in December and the new year.
After the IB results are published in July, and then again in August, advice for university entrance is on hand, particularly for those who have met with unexpected success or disappointment. The Head of Careers, as well as other staff, is available during the post-results period, and students who have formally left school in June are very welcome to contact them for information and guidance.
Contacts:
Mrs Ruth Greenhalgh (Director of Higher Education and Careers) rag@sevenoaksschool.org
Mrs Wendy Heydorn (Assistant Director of Higher Education) wjh@sevenoaksschool.org
Mrs Julia Douglas (Head of US and International university applications) jd@sevenoaksschool.org
Mr James Tate (Head of Middle School careers) jlt@sevenoaksschool.org