Thinking about a "Plan B"?

If your GCSE or AS results were not what you expected and you need to re-think your options, DON'T PANIC, help is at hand! There are lots of things you can do.  Start by reading this ...

• Talk to someone at school.  Senior Staff will be available in school on Results Day and you can book an appointment to speak to someone to get advice about what you can do next.
• Talk to a Youth Connexions Personal Adviser. Our Beaumont PA, Claire Blanchard will be in school from the start of term and you can also contact her through the St Albans Youth Connexions website.
• On GCSE Results Day, Thursday 20th August, Simon Stothard from Youth Connexions will be available to talk to in school. He can work with you on a late application to College or help you with other pathways such as entering employment or an Apprenticeship. 
• Visit the Youth Connexions "one stop shop" in Catherine Street. You can find out the details here. It will be open on Results Day.
• Think about an Apprenticeship.  You can find all the information you need at Apprenticeships.org. You simply fill in your details  -  like a mini CV  -  and then you can search the opportunities available and applying is easy as your information is stored.
• Think about applying to Oaklands College. They have Open Days this month for late applications. You can find the details here as well as on the Oaklands website. 

Check out ChannelMogo for general information and advice.
Use the 'search' tool on this blog to explore further options.

Keep calm and talk to someone to get the impartial advice and guidance you need ... Good luck!

Apprenticeship success story.

How did a young Hertfordshire resident get from finishing her GCSEs to a £30k salary, working in IT at Harrods? Read Charlotte's story (and some other case studies on Apprenticeships) here.

What are employers looking for?

Ever wondered what exactly employers are looking for in their job applicants? Well, a national education charity, NIACE, has created a website with case studies and videos to tell you exactly that. Visit it here.

Summer reading ...

Summer is often described as "the silly season" when it comes to news but here are some articles from national newspapers about education and careers issues to provoke your interest, or make your blood boil...

• How taking part in competitions can improve your employability
• Forget university, be an entrepreneur instead!
• UK school leavers have the worst 'essential skills' in Europe
• Decline in school leavers' Maths skills
• Work on your CV not your suntan
• Traditional degrees are obsolete
• Advice for school leavers

Introducing The Medic Portal

The Medic Portal, an organisation which works with thousands of students every year, has partnered with the Royal Society of Medicine to develop a definitive resource for anyone applying to medicine. 

Features include:

• A free 100+ page guide covering every stage of the Medicine application process
• A free portfolio tool where you can manage your application and performance
• A free, one-click tool which allows you to compare all UK Medical School data
• Blogs from applicants and students, Science experts and weekly news summaries
• An online learning platform where you can practise UKCAT, BMAT and interview questions
• Access to leading, interactive courses and tutoring for Medicine

It really is the "one stop shop" for would-be Doctors ...

Which universities are most likely to get you a job?

New data released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency has revealed how university graduates from the class of 2013/14 got on when entering the world of work. The Telegraph newspaper has compiled a list of the 'Top 10' universities for employment. The "best" university, by this measure, achieved 97.4% of its graduates in employment or further study after six months. You might be interested to learn that neither Oxford or Cambridge made it into the Top 10. To find out who did, click here.

UK is home to Unicorns

The UK has 17 companies whose start up valuation, when launched on the stock market, was $1bn or more (they are known as "Unicorns"). The vast majority of these are tech companies, including AO world, ASOS, Rightmove and Zoopla. In the last 12 months the UK has had seven unicorns, including Shazam and Farfetch, compared to six from the rest of Europe, however there were 22 in the US. Tech analyst, Manish Madhvani, said, “The UK has raced ahead as the undisputed home of unicorns in Europe. Growth is accelerated because we have created an environment capable of sustaining high levels of investment across a range of tech sector”. Max Gregory, UK chief economist at Ernst & Young, said, “There is now a growing belief that the next global tech giant will come from London”.  [ source: GTAssociates ]