Welcome from the Head of Careers
Given our commitment to teaching young people ‘not just to make a living, but to make a life,’ this department lies at the very heart of the College’s offering, opening students’ eyes to the promise of the future and the realisation of their values and ambitions.
The Careers Office, located in Iona House, provides a warm and welcoming environment, with a well-equipped library offering information on an extensive variety of careers opportunities. Students from Form 4 onwards also have access to industry leading software called Unifrog. This software offers a wide range of opportunities for students to explore as they plan for the future. This includes psychometric careers testing that helps students find careers especially suited to them.
The Higher Education and Careers Department operates an ‘open door’ policy in addition to organised individual interviews with the Head of Careers and Higher Education, Mr Michael Wright who has over a decade of experience in this area of advice and guidance.
Mr M Wright
Head of Careers & Higher Education
…pupils receive effective guidance to prepare them for the next stage. ISI Report January 2015
Careers Education
Careers Education begins in the prep school and continues into Form 1 through tutor periods and House assemblies as part of the College’s comprehensive pastoral programme. Thereafter, as students move up through the Senior School, careers information, advice and guidance becomes more focused and tailored to the needs of specific year groups.
The Head of Careers and Higher Education also supports the House tutors in the pastoral programme by providing them with relevant and comprehensive resources and activities to promote discussion and reflection. These discussions may focus on personal development, developing decision-making skills, and the variety of post-eighteen options, such as; higher education choices, the UCAS and applications cycle, alternatives to higher education, and adapting to an ever-changing world of work.
Form 3: GCSE Options
GCSE options are the focus of the pastoral programme in the Lent Term of Form 3. Full guidance on GCSE subject choice is available in the booklet ‘GCSEs The Next Step’. The Head of Careers and Higher Education addresses Form 3 at relevant tutor period assemblies and invites individual students to see him at agreed lunch-times to discuss any concerns or questions they may have about their GCSE and future Sixth Form and post-eighteen options, and help them to make well-informed and realistic decisions.
Form 4/5: Sixth Form Options
Students complete their Unifrog Careers Profile, a range of psychometric tests and interests questions, at the end of Form 4. Individual discussions about Sixth Form options, based on the student’s Unifrog Careers Profile, take place in Michaelmas Term of Form 5 with the Head of Careers and Higher Education. He can also be consulted on an ongoing individual basis throughout the two-year GCSE programme via school email, daily ‘drop-in’ lunch-time sessions or mutually agreed meetings in the Careers Office.
Sixth Form: University and Other Options
Most Sixth Form students at St Columba’s progress to university after A Levels. The focus of the Sixth Form careers programme is exploring higher education options. This includes traditional university routes and also new areas like degree level apprenticeships. For all areas, external speakers attend the college to give information to students first hand. Alternative support is also available for students considering employment, training or a further education course at eighteen.
Students in the Lower and Upper Sixth use the specialist search functions available on Unifrog to explore which universities they want to apply to through UCAS. Unifrog also has special search functions for those applying to Oxford and Cambridge and also those applying for courses internationally.
The Head of Careers and Higher Education then has individual discussions with all Lower Sixth students in the Lent Term about their options at eighteen and can be consulted on an ongoing basis throughout the Sixth Form. There is additional specialist support for students considering an Oxford or Cambridge University application, and also for those applying to Medicine and Law. This support is offered by Mrs Adair, our Oxbridge and Prestigious University Co-Ordinator.
Work Experience
The College offers Lower Sixth Form students a formal work experience programme, taking place in the Trinity Term following training sessions on ‘Post-18 Options and Introduction to Higher Education and UCAS’.
The programme is extremely beneficial in helping students to focus on their own choices and priorities, at the same time giving them confidence and independence. The experience of working teaches them to interact and take responsibility in an adult setting and it can fill them with enthusiasm and ambition for a particular profession (or, just as usefully, the opposite!). The experience is an advantageous addition on a UCAS application, and students generally report that it is one of the highlights of their year.
We are very grateful to the parents, alumni and other friends of the Columban community who assist in offering placements. We are always eager to follow up offers of help in this area: if you can provide appropriate work experience to a sixth-former for one week, we invite you to contact Mr Michael Wright , Head of Careers and Higher Education at wright.m@stcolumbascollege.org
In the summer of 2023, our work experience placements included:
- Working for a precision engineering company, making parts for F1 cars.
- Exploring careers in Law at some of the area’s leading Law firms.
- Working at the Big Four companies PWC and KPMG.
- Learning about digital marketing at a leading marketing agency in London.
- Shadowing the Medical Director in ENT Surgery at North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
University Applications
Most Sixth Form students at St Columba’s progress to university after A Levels. The focus of the Sixth Form careers programme is exploring higher education options. This includes traditional university routes and also new areas like degree level apprenticeships.
The Head of Careers and Higher Education has individual discussions with Lower Sixth students in the Lent Term which serve as a starting point for students as they assess their own preferences and criteria. Support and information are freely available with additional specialist guidance for students considering an Oxford or Cambridge application.
The Head of Careers and Higher Education works with House Tutors within the pastoral programme to help boys reflect on their own personal development. Throughout the Senior School and more intensively throughout the Sixth Form, we encourage students to explore the many post-eighteen options available, including: alternatives to higher education, international higher education choices, the UCAS and applications cycle, lifelong learning, opportunities for service and larger questions about personal vocations and choices.
We aim to ensure that every student has the information and support they need to make important choices at this pivotal time. We strive to assure every student that their future is important to us and that their choices will be treated with respect.
There is a well-planned programme in place to support students as they research their choices:
Lower Sixth Form
Lent Term
- Unifrog training on how to use software to aid university research
- Small-group discussions and completion of Unifrog shortlists
- ‘Introduction to Higher Education’ Evening for Lower Sixth students and parents
- Inspiration Day with outside speakers including alumni and contributors from a wide range of organizations
- Student have one to one interviews with Mr Wright to discuss their university and future career ideas
Trinity Term
- Students are taken to the UCAS Exhibition to meet representatives from all the leading universities in the UK
- Students are assisted in selecting appropriate University Open Days and Taster courses
- Russell Group universities visit the college to explain UCAS application process
- Students register early onto the UCAS platform in May
- UCAS referees are assigned and begin to work with students in preparing their personal statements
- Formal one-week Work Experience is undertaken during term time
Upper Sixth Form
Michaelmas Term
- Referees support personal statement writing and write references for students
- Students make selection of 5 UCAS choices with support for tutors and Mr Wright
- Interview skills training begins for those who require it
- Student finance and budgeting sessions are taught
Lent and Trinity Terms
- Students receive University offers
- Students apply for Student Finance support
- Students get support from Mr Wright choosing Firm and Insurance choices
- Mr Wright is available from A Level results day to assist with contacting universities and amending choices in the light of examination outcomes
