News for aspiring Journalists

News Academy is looking to inspire the next generation of journalists. It offers fortnightly writing competitions for young people (offering a £100 Amazon voucher as prize) as well as one week intensive Summer Schools for students to learn the tricks of the trade.  They also hold national conferences  -  the next one is 10th February 2015 in London. For more details, click here.

Higher education choices

A survey of 2,300 adults found that, of those who had taken degrees, 31% said they wish they had taken a different subject; for people aged 25-34 it was 42%. Of those who had not been to university, 30% said they regretted not going.  So it pays to consider your options carefully. Websites such as Which University and others with links on the left of this page could be a useful source of impartial advice and guidance ...

Meanwhile, research by Coventry University found that 1 in 7 students value the advice of parents in terms of choosing higher education courses over their own views. The study also found that 35% of parents wanted to influence their children's university choice, while 1 in 8 said they would encourage children to stay at home because they feared they would “miss them too much”. The study flagged up the issue of parents giving advice based on out of date information. One researcher said; “Parental advice, which many parents admit is heavily influenced by their own higher education path, may be ill-informed. The most effective advice parents could offer would be to encourage their children to research potential future careers, including talking to people in those fields of work."

Mock interviews for aspiring Doctors

Medic Mentor is offering an 'Interview Skills Workshop' for young people hoping to apply for medical school. It is taking place in London on 22nd November 2014. It costs £30-45 with the proceeds going to charity. For more information, click here.

Apprenticeships update

The Youth Connexions website has lots of useful information about Apprenticeship opportunities in the local area. For example, it lists Apprenticeship opportunities for school leavers in companies such as Tesco, GlaxoSmithKline; accountancy firms, including KPMG and Deloitte and engineering. These schemes range from sponsored degrees and higher apprenticeships to trainee management programmes and they are suitable for those that have studied A levels or Level 3 qualifications. They can be found here in the jobseekers section of the new Youth Connexions website. Applications are open now for some of these schemes.

A "snapshot" of local Apprenticeships this week:

Apprenticeship vacancies:

• 171 Vacancies Apprenticeships

• 1.5% Traineeships

• 75% intermediate

• 23% advanced

• 0.5% Higher

Wages:

• Average wage £136 per week

• Almost 43% paying over average per week

• Wage range £80 - £451 per week

• Only 10 paying national minimum wage – 6%

• 94% paying above national minimum wage

Most Popular Sectors:

• Business, administration and law (40% of vacancies - 67)

• Retail and commercial enterprise (27% of vacancies - 46 )

Year 11 and Beyond Evening 14.10.14

The PowerPoint presentation for the Year 11 and Beyond evening, held on 14th October can be downloaded here.

Guidance on UCAS Personal Statements

For Year 13 students working on their UCAS Personal Statements there's plenty of good advice available  -  most importantly from the Sixth Form pastoral team  -  but a little more can always help. Click here for some additional guidance from a self-proclaimed expert!

Looking for a career in Law?

AllAboutLaw.co.uk has put together a listing of the top law firms for training contracts and vacation schemes.  It also includes listings of the top law firms and an on-line quiz for you to check to see if Law is the right career for you.