University Masterclasses

Great opportunity now available for booking. Wide range of subjects and Saturday dates from 1st Feb to late April. A mere £10 per session. They will book up fast. Go to:

www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/events/masterclasses

You DO NOT have to be planning to apply to Cambridge University to attend.

Leicester University Taster Days

They are holding a wide range of taster lectures and events for a wide range of degree courses on Saturday 13th December. It is a long way to travel, but could be very valuable to the right student. Leicester University has developed an excellent reputation in the past few years and is a regular in the university guides Top 20. For more info look at:

www.le.ac.uk/taster2013.

Cambridge University Masterclasses

Wide range of these excellent opportunities will soon have firm dates announced. If you are interested then click on link below to ensure you are notified personally first. They book out very fast so do use the link below if this is of possible interest to you:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Cambridge2014

PWC Accountancy Open House

They running a careers/recruitment session on next Monday 25th November 17.00 -19.00 in their Bricket Road office. Sixth formers welcome to find out more about roles in accountancy and tax. Book via link http://www.ukcareers.pwc.com/PwCGradWeb and search for event in St Albans.

Another University Comparison Site

These are popping up like the mushrooms in my garden. I am not sure how much this overall will add to the body of knowledge from a quick glance, and seems heavily weighted to the promotion of certain universities, however the review section may have merit:

http://universitycompare.com/university-guide/

As always be careful for planted information, when reviews have limited sample size.

IT Apprenticeships.

The site below is a post from Microsoft's schools blog and refers to the broad IT apprenticeship scheme that they sponsor. If interested you might find you  have to google on from there to get application details (ironic, huh)

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ukschools/archive/2013/10/14/the-microsoft-apprentice.aspx

Please be aware if touring this site that it is a general promotional site for the wonders of Microsoft

Ski Instructor Opportunity In Canada 2014/15

Need to be over 18 in November 2014 and available for their season, so could suit Gap Year candidate, currently in Year 13 . See me for details.

Textiles Taster

Workshop Wed 23rd October at Herts University. Two sessions : 2 - 4 and 5 -7 pm. Free.

Contact l.bloxham@herts.ac.uk to book.

University scholarships and finance

A reminder that there is a website called the Scholarship Hub (see LHS of Blog  - University Section), which collects all this difficult to tie down information in one place. A very good reference guide in the months ahead to help you with the cost of university access.

Cambridge University Essay Competitions

In History or Philosophy based topics. In past few year two Beaumont students have entered one of these with considerable success, so if you are studying in htese areas and have aspirations to demonstrate your ability to the highest academic levels, consider entering this:

http://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/essay-competitions-2013-2014/

Medicine and midwifery work experience

Offered by Herts North and East NHS trusts. If interested in what appears to be an excellent , follow up via this website:

http://www.enherts-tr.nhs.uk/get-involved/student-volunteer-programme-2/

Grants for those with disabilities or underprivileged

The Sir George Burns Fund offers grants from £50 - £500 to help people in the categories above pay for residential visits in UK and abroad or to purchase special equipment items for those with disabilities. Can also go towards college fees. Note these are grants not loans.

See me if you think you might be eligible.

Travel Scholarships

Fund available for grants of £100 - £500 for future travel with an educational component (teaching English abroad for example) > travel plans must be one month and longer so this is for current Year 13s to consider, but it is an annual opportunity to be aware of. Several Beaumont students have been grateful to receive funds from this source in the past.

See me for application details.

University Taster Days are back

Before the major rush for these begins, London University is putting on a few interesting sessions before Christmas. Cover a range of degree course including Geography and UCL's relatively new Arts/Science combined degree.

Look up details on www.london.ac.uk\tasters and book from there, if interested. These are aimed at Year 12s mainly.

EPQ catching hold

Southampton have joined Bristol University and other highly competitive universities in recognising the value of the EPQ in developing study skills. They have offered to reduce their typical AAB offer in many subjects by a grade if a student can obtain an A grade in an Extended Project Qualification. Given how high a percentage of Beaumont students last year got an A or A* in this last year, this is a highly attractive propostion.

Sixth Form Extension

Colours, carpets, furnishings and layout all agreed with Student Council and gone to contractors. Hope to break ground by end of month and be ready by end of March. WEather and planning permission permitting.

American College Open Day

28th September in Central London. Great chance to find out what American Universities have to offer British students. Fees, academic criteria, scholarship information etc. Meet many of them all in one easy place. Has to be booked. See poster in Common Room.

Cambridge University Festival of Ideas

Two weeks of activities and not too remote. Many take place at the weekend. See posters for events and dates. May well be worth a trip.

Year in Industry

Recruiting for next year. Great Gap year opportunity for STEM students. See posters in Common Room.
Paid, proper job with highly rated employers. Guarantee of a productive year out between school and university.

University Sponsorship Engineering

Scotch Partners an engineering design practice based in London are looking for a school leaver with good A level Maths and Physics ( or related subjects) to take a part-time engineering degree course whilst undertaking paid work experience. Advert in Common Room from Monday or contact me directly if from departed Year 13s. More info at www.scotchpartners.com.

A new approach to making university offers

Birmingham University have experimented this year with offering unconditional offers to some some applicants ahead of their full A level results. This is aimed at reducing stress on students approaching their A2 exams, but also, clearly, at improving the uptake of strong candidates in a highly competitive field. At least one Beaumont and one Verulam student has accepted them as their choice based on the increased certainty offered.

As always, there are pros and cons to this decision. It is recommended that you discuss the implications of this development, particularly if it expands beyond Birmingham next year, if you have any queries about taking this route.

Local fitness course

Free to 16 -19 year olds for five weeks from 19th June at The Base, London Colney. Covers health, fitness and nutrition. Could be a stepping stone towards a job in the fitness industry. Call Shelley on 07920 708029 for more info.

More Open Days on July 5th

Delighted that Loughborough and Cardiff Universities have added Friday 5th July as an open day, as this is the day set aside during CED Week for such visits. We find that both universities attract considerable attention from our students. Others in the same category that are hosting on this date are: East Anglia (UEA); Southampton and Cambridge.

Herts University Subject Taster Days

8th July - Humanities - English; History; Philosophy; Languages; Creative Writing

9th July - Nursing; Midwifery; Social Work; Paramedic Science

You can apply independently and closing date is 12th June.

Visit www.herts.ac.uk

London Taster Days - Still Places

There are still places on a number of degree courses for these taster days ( www.london.ac.uk) in areas such  as Business & Management; Electronic Engineering; Maths; Physics; Sociology and many more. Look them up, if you have not booked any taster days anywhere yet.

Birmingham University Free Summer Residential

Summer School run by the university has 50 places. 3 days and 2 nights. Experience the university surrounds, the City and attend academic sessions on areas of interest. Competitive programme. Deadline for applications is June 1st.

For more info and eligibility criteria go to www.birmingham.ac.uk/HEI

Chemistry at University?

The Royal Society of Chemistry's university roadshow hits London on July 6th. It is free to attend, will feature 30 different universities that over courses in Chemical Science. Free to attend but requires registration online. Google "meet the universities 2013" if interested.

Property Surveyor Job

Based in Harpenden. You need to be educated to A level standard ( preferably with Geography and Maths) so might suit a Year 13 looking to start work this summer. £17,000 pa starting salary.

for more information go to www.plowmancraven.co.uk

Trinity College Cambridge Science Residential for Year 12s

25 - 26 June for those intending to study:

natural sciences/medicine/engineering/computer science/materials and geological sciences

Free of charge, 35 places, but competitive and based on academic merit.

3rd June deadline. Online application at www.access.trin.cam.ac.uk/upcoming-sciences-residential-2013/

Ski Scholarship

EA offering a free place on their Instructor Program for the 2013/14 Canadian ski season. Details from:

www.easkiandsnowboard.com/scholarship-application

Summer Job for Year 13s

Potential summer and gap year vacancies at OPRO sports shield company based in Hemel Hempstead.

Must be available to work until at least Sept 24th and, for some, into November.

More info contact vicki.h@opro.com

Politics taster days

Taster lectures and seminars in Politics and International relations at Queen Mary's London on:

14, 27 and 28 June

I have ability to nominate up to 4 students, so see me if interested.

End of Term Arrangements

Thursday is the last day of "Spring" Term.

Sixth Form lessons run until the end of Period 4 at Beaumont. Verulam lessons run until the end of their Period 3 ie 11.55, and Sandringham's lessons run right through to the end of the day. Minibuses will run at Break and Lunch as normal. If you are at Verulam for their Period 3, you can either walk home form there or wait until lunch for transport back to Beaumont.

Your annual full school reports will be available at Tutor Time Period 1 and we have an Awards Assembly Period 2 with at least 95 separate winners.

Vets and Vet Nursing

The Royal Veterinary College is offering a Summer School 22-25 July for Year 12s interested in veterinary study. Looks like a great opportunity for any interested in taking this route. Likely to be competitive for places, so do rush despite the deadline being 10th May:

http://www.rvc.ac.uk/WP/SummerSchools/Apply.cfm

Another University Guide

This one looks slick, whizzy, and out there, and it may also be one of the most easy on the eye. I am not sure that it offers anything more in terms of valuable content than all the others, but let the market decide! It is called the real university guide, presumably to distinguish it from the fake ones:

www.realuniguide.com

Worth a look to see if it suits you.

Careers update

A reminder about current active recruiters in the area:

SA Law - 6 year route to become a solicitor (applications Sept '13 for Summer '14 start)

BDO - 5 years to qualification as an accountant

Tesco - 2 year IT apprenticeships

MDBA - business and engineering apprenticeships

All the above have established links on the Blog already.

In addition Nat West and Halifax are recruiting school leavers. See their websites for details.

Post A levels opportunities in banking and finance

The Brokerage Citylink is a charity which provides pathways into employment in the City. They support programmes that involve taking full-time, paid positions while continuing to study for business and finance qualifications.

Places have to be won and minimum academic requirement is predicted BBC at A level.

More info at: www.thebrokerage.org.uk

Estate Agency Work Experience for Yr 12s

Ashtons offering this is a range of local branches for a week beginning 5th or 12th August.

For information contact koxley@ashtons.co.uk

Closing date is 31st March.

Careers & Networking Event for Year 13s

Opportunity to meet with recruiters in Investment Banking, Commercial Law and Professional Services in London on 2nd April.

You need to apply by deadline of 22nd March via:

http://www.brightnetwork.co.uk/hsbc-upper-sixth-form-conference

You must be in Year 13 and must have attained A and A* at GCSE level.

Apprenticeship in Aircraft Industry

Martin-Baker Ltd, based in Uxbridge have opportunities for post 18 students not planning to go to university. If interested, investigate via:

http://www.martin-baker.com/about/careers/apprenticeships

The initial deadline was March 11th but, apparently, more opportunities are to follow.

Job Opportunity at Sports Retailer

OPRO have a Summer/Gap year work opportunity focused on sixth form leavers. If interested, e-mail info@opro.com with CV and covering letter.

New policy from Birmingham University

This university is doing a trial of making UNconditional offers to some students who apply before completing their A levels. This will occur only for certain students that they most keen to recruit. It would take the pressure off any applications who accept, but is a recruiting tool and careful consideration of alternative options would need to occur before making that decision.

Very interesting development. though.

University Scholarships

A gap in student online information appears to have been filled by the new site "the scholarship hub". It has information on all scholarships available from universities with a searchable database.

Link can be found on University section of Blog. So good we put it on twice for now.

University Information Evening 20th March

To confirm. this event starts at 7pm on Wed 20th March in the Main Hall. This is per the letter issued to all Year 12s last week ,but is a change to the School Calendar. Apologies if this presents any problems.

Arts & Social Science Taster Day

Held at Lancaster University, which is a fair distance away, but popular with our students and very well rated nationally. It is on 5th July which last day of CED Week, which is a day set aside for attendance at such events. See poster on CR Noticeboard.

Another Composite Site

Supply is responding to demand, and now there is a second website we are aware of that specifically collects and highlights school leaver opportunities, including many that aim at those with KS5 (Sixth From) qualifications. Now added to Career Opportunities section, and referenced as "school-leavers (Future Talent).

MDBA school leaver schemes

Just added a new link in the rapidly expanding Career Opportunities section for MBDA Systems based in Stevenage. They have a range of options, including the increasingly common work and graduate plan for their Business Trainees. They also offer one year internships for undergraduates and summer placements. To secure a place on their business trainee scheme you need the equivalent of BBB at A level. Much more detail on the site.

Physics or Chemistry Degree?

If you are considering one of these degrees and are unsure of which best suits, then there is an interesting "Chemistry and Materials Science" Masterclass being held on Wed 17th April at Balliol College, Oxford. You have to be in year 12 and studying Physics, Chemistry and Maths.

There will be two practical workshops and it is an all day event. You would have to be able to make your own way there and back.  If interested, see me asap after half-term, as I need to put you forward for a place.

Pure Potential Event

Wednesday 20th February in London. Designed for anyone who wants to go straight into work after sixth form studies:

http://www.purepotential.org/events/pp--school-leavers

UEA Taster Days & Summer School

The University of East Anglia is further away than the London Universities but they do also have excellent  taster sessions and an interesting summer school programme. More at:

 http://www.uea.ac.uk/study/universitytasters

UEA is now ranked in the Top 25 Universities in the UK and in the World Top 1%, which is testimony to the strength of British universities.

Legal Apprenticeship Scheme

SA Law, based in St Albans, has opened up applications for its Summer 2013 school leavers programme.

See the Career Opportunities link to download details of the scheme and to follow up.

School Leaver Opportunities

Alerting sixth formers to opportunities outside of the university route has tended to be a piecemeal process, despite a recent resurgence in what is available. However now a website is launched that may well fill the need. It is:

http://www.allaboutschoolleavers.co.uk/

It has been given a permanent link on the blog, and we would like to know how useful it proves, so please give us feedback once you have looked at it.

LSE Public Lectures

Easily accessible in the evenings in London are a series of public lectures at the London School of Economics. Topics can include Politics, Law, Psychology, Economics, Philosophy and many other branches of Social Science. To keep track of them go to :

http://www2.lse.ac.uk/publicEvents/eventsHome.aspx

Accountancy & Finance Careers

22nd February (half-term) event in City of London. Meet employers and qualification experts. Free except £5 charge for lunch (nice lunch!).

More details and place booking contact: sarah.bullingham@inspiringfutures.org.uk

Politics Summer School

A commercial company, Debate Chamber, are running a 5 day Politics Summer School which will include seminars, a mock Parliament, a focus on a couple of rapidly changing areas of British political processes and a tour of the Houses of Parliament. All tutors are graduates of Politics.

There is a sizeable charge of £390, so do research this opportunity thoroughly before committing. More details from:

www.debatechamber.com

STEM Talk

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Beaumont has arranged for a talk on careers in these areas on Thursday 14th February immediately after school at 3.30.

It is open to all students in Years 10 - 13, and should be an excellent, easily accessible opportunity to access valuable information.

Year 12 Law Conference

Held at Herts Uni 2nd July 2013. Includes mock trial and a lecture on law and social media. Could be useful for all interested in studying Law. It is free and application details will be sent through to @Beaumontsixthform in due course. Just a date for the diary for now.

Maths at Cambridge University

Saturday 9th Feb taster event for those interested in taking a maths related subject there.

Application Criteria:

Year 12 at state school; A* at GCSE Maths; on target to get an A at AS Maths; interested in Maths, Economics, Physics or Computer Science degree. Applications open now via:
 www. purepotential/events/pp-mathematicans (there is also a direct link to Pure Potential events site on your left.

Another Supported Degree Programme

Have just added another of these accountancy funded degree programmes, this one from PWC. It is based in either Reading or Newcastle Universities. More details on:

http://www.pwc.co.uk/careers/schools/flying-start-degrees/flying-start.jhtml

Banking Work Experience

Available for one week in summer holidays with HSBS, so could be attractive for Year 12 considering this area for a career:

www.jobs.hsbc.co.uk/apprentices/work-experience-programme.aspx

Women into Engineeering

In a push to increase numbers in this category a new campaign called "TALENT" has been launched via a website, unsurprisingly addressed:

www.talent2030.org

Worth a look if you have thought at all about a career in manufacturing or engineering and are female.

Free University Summer Schools

The Sutton Trust charity finances some excellent summer school programmes AT NO CHARGE. However places are reserved for Year 12s from "non privileged" backgrounds ie low household income and/or no family history of university education. Details and eligibility criteria from:

www.suttontrust.com/summer-schools/uk-summer-schools

UEA Taster Events

Along with London Uni's programme, these are well regarded but a greater transportation challenge. Several however are held in London. Worth a look:

www.uea.ac.uk/study/universitytasters

Scientific Work Experience

Easter Holiday placements at Cancer Research UK's South Mimms site are available. As always it is important to book early to have a chance of securing a place, though deadline is 22/2/13.

Dates 2-5 April & 8- 12 April

Application Forms are available from Sixth Form Office. 

More details from http://www.london-research-institute.org.uk/jobs-and-education/outreach (work experience)

Interview and Personal Statement Advice

This is well covered by Sixth Form staff and activities. However, if you want some general guidance to confirm what we will tell you or you want reminders when outside school hours, then a new website called "Application Station" (www.application-station.co.uk) may be worth a look.

There is a large amount of free content, which appears to be well considered and supports our own advice. Be aware that they also offer services for a fee (everybody needs to make money). The quality of this is untested by Beaumont and therefore is not endorsed by us.

Another Structured Career Programme in Finance

Joining the rapidly swelling ranks of these schemes for school leavers post sixth form are the BDO accountancy firm (www.bdoschoolleavers.co.uk). Applicants require a minimum of 280 UCAS points which is equivalent to BBC from 3 A Levels. These schemes all provide on and off the job training whilst you work and earn. Industry recognised qualifications follow success.

Recruitment Career Opportunity

St Albans based IT recruitment agency - Understanding Recruitment. Looking for 2 -3 A level (or equivalent) students to join their apprenticeship scheme. See www.understandingrecruitment.co.uk  (contact us) for more information.

Degree Course Taster Courses

For more than five years, we have been suggesting to all considering university application that attendance at taster courses are the best way to gain confidence in a potential course choice and to add weight to your Personal Statement. They are usually free and generally of one day's duration.

Because of its proximity and the vast range of events of offer, by far the best source for Beaumont students is  the London University Taster Course Programme (www.london.ac.uk/tasters). Unfortunately, it is so good that more and more schools have caught on to its benefits and so now early booking is essential, as many fill up very quickly.

There are 150 courses in 70+ subject areas. All are free and on offer from March until July. It is possible to preview them now on the site listed above. Places can be booked from 11am on Thursday 10th January . This is strongly advised, if you are thinking that university will be your next stage after Sixth Form.