Day 1 School Leaver Programmes

and Scholarships

Sacred Heart Year 13

15th—17th June 2016

Futures Week 2016

The New Year 13 Futures Week kicked off to a great

start on Day 1 with a school leaver and scholarship

information day. In the morning the students

listened to presentations from a range of companies

and were able to ask questions to school leavers

from Allsop – property surveyors, Schroeders –

asset management, Accenture – management con-

sultancy, HaysMcIntyre – accountancy, and Herbert

Smith Freehills – law firm.

They were given tips to keep their

post 18 options open and to not

only apply for university, but to

consider the scholarships available

especially with the rising tuition

fees! Many of the students stayed

throughout the course of the

lunchtime to continue networking

with the employers from the

morning as they tried to glean as

much information as possible.

Tips from apprentices at Herbert

Smith Freehills

Page 2

Futures Week 2016

Comments from the students: “I now have a better idea of what path I want to take in the future.”

“I got a lot of information about things I never had an idea about.”

“I really enjoyed listening to the older year groups.”

“The tips from all of the employers were very useful.”

“What I found useful was the Q&A with the employers as it gave me an insight into the skills that they

look for.”

In the afternoon InternFirst arranged an employer panel from The Guardian - national newspaper, Baker

& McKenzie - law firm, Group M - advertising agency, and CBRE - property investors. Students (Nadege,

Stephen, Matthew, Tiannah, Jael, and Emmanuel) presented the opportunities and challenges they face in

finding out about post-18 options and future careers to the panel, before being asked questions by the

panel. The students spoke with clarity and confidence, which thoroughly impressed the panel. The event

opened up to a Q & A session, with students keen to continue speaking with the employers in the

networking event which occurred immediately after.

Students Tiannah, Matthew and Nadege put their opinions on post-18 challenges and opportunities across to the panel of employers.

Q&A session organised by InternFirst with The Guardian, Group M, CBRE and Baker and McKenzie

15th—17th June 2016

Day 2 was an early start for the students, departing school at 8.15am for the coach down to the University of Sussex. The University of Sussex is a leading higher education and research institution near Brighton, in the south of England which is ranked 20th in the UK by The Guardian University League Tables.

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Futures Week 2016

Physics

Despite the rain, the students were excited to be heading out of London to catch a glimpse of student life at a campus university. Once seated in the lecture theatre the students heard about student life from Will, a Politics and Philos-ophy 3rd year student. The information on the accommodation costs of £86pw to £150pw for ensuite rooms startled the students, until they found out this included a cleaner! In contrast, finding out about fresher’s week and bursaries from unusual sources helped to soften this financial blow (such as the ‘Vegetarian society’ who will give students £500 if they give up meat for a year!).

Day 2 Trip to University of Sussex

Accommodation costs at Sussex from £86pw Fresher’s Week Activities – something for everyone!

After a quick campus tour and seeing an ex Sacred Heart student, Michael Udebhulu at lunch, it was onto a lecture from Craig, a recruitment officer, regarding university applications and student finance. The students took detailed notes on what to include and avoid in their personal statements, then followed up with questions regarding the UCAS application process.

15th—17th June 2016

Futures Week 2016

With two contrasting days, a number of students have commented on how school leaver programmes, scholarships and bursaries could help alleviate the debt burden of an undergraduate degree. Another information packed day, giving the students a lot to think about!

Comments from the students: ‘Now I know how I will be able to finance university’ – Aaron

‘Sussex University gave me an accurate insight into what university would be like. Very informative and

useful’ - Tiannah

‘At Sussex all my questions and confusion were resolved. I was able to speak to an Anthropology student, which is an area that I am interested in. The advice was useful and I feel more confident about

my future application’ – Samia

‘The trip to Sussex was very helpful especially because I had an insight into the university application process. I now know the key dates to ensure that I prioritise my application. Overall I learnt a lot about

university life which is very important to me’ – Jael

‘I really enjoyed the trip to Sussex. It gave me information on what university life is like and how to

prepare a good application. All sixth form students should have this opportunity!’ – Remi

‘I gained an insight into what a campus university is like, beforehand I was mostly considering city-based

universities. The student finance talk was extremely useful in clearing up any misunderstandings and

worries about how to support myself through university and beyond’ - Joana

Day 3 Personal Statement Writing and

alternative Post 18 Options

15th—17th June 2016

The final morning was dedicated to the students UCAS applications. Adrienne, from Unifrog gave hints and tips of what admissions tutors are looking for. The Unifrog platform that the students use provides them with infor-mation on universities, including; their ranking, tuition fees, accommodation costs, prospective salary on gradua-tion, lecture and tutor contact time and the important unofficial student review. Students were advised to print or email the university short lists that they create for their teachers and parents throughout the next 3 months as they research and refine their options.

Personal Statement Tips

Do’s 1. Your Personal Statement is about you - it's not an article written about your prospective field of

study. It should be about your interest in the subject. 2. Show your Personal Statement to several people to improve your drafts. 3. Give convincing reasons for why you want to study the course - more than just "enjoying the

subject" Don’ts 1. Be afraid of details. Explain exactly which topics or activities you've taken part in and enjoyed.

It's much more compelling to read about 1 or 2 detailed examples than 5 or 6 brief ones. 2. Mention skills and activities without giving examples of when they have been demonstrated and

what you learnt from them. Anyone can write "I have great leadership skills". 3. Refer to experiences that took place before your GCSEs!

Futures Week 2016

In the afternoon, the students found out about alternative post 18 options, from attending university in the EU where a number of courses are delivered in English and the tuition fees are considerably lower than the UK, to studying in the US, where there are more bursaries and fully funded scholarships available.

Comments from the students: ‘This week I feel that I have gained an insight into the different paths available other than

university. This make me feel more confident as I know which websites to look at a range of for post-18 options’ – Ana

‘The last three days have been very instructive and have allowed me to realise that university is

one of many opportunities. Both employment and university will allow me to be successful and I

found that networking with people from different industries was very interesting. There is literally

something out there for everyone’ – Matthew.

15th—17th June 2016

At the end of 3 days, the students armed with a wealth of information from their ’Futures Week’ information packs, are ready to begin their personal statements, for their UCAS for applications for entry in October 2017. Time is moving so quickly!

Taking notes on university options in the main hall

Research and personal statement writing

in the library

Sacred Heart Catholic School, Camberwell New Road, London,

SE5 0RP 15th—17th June 2016

Futures Week 2016

To conclude ‘Futures Week’ the new Year 13 Student Leadership Team was announced. There were 28 applicants for the 15 positions available. It was an intense selection process with job descriptions adver-tised to the year group in May, to letters of application from candidates and finally an interview panel involving members of the Senior Leadership team and departing Year 13 Student Leadership Team, Tyrone, Eniola, Leonardo and Leah.

Year 13 Student Leadership Team

Position Year 13 Student Leadership Team 2016/17

Head Boy

John Vu

Head Girl Nadege Anotchi

Head of Student Council Simeon Akinwale and Elizabeth Abiade

Head of House Duoc Van Pham– Bosco Grace Aregbosola— Cabrini Hanz Espino—Magdalene Trixie Owusu Frimpong—Becket

Leadership Stephen Kwakye Jael Umerah Matthew Bellor Carolina Lopes Mark Siraut Seghen Ghezae Ana Silva Pereira

Sixth Form Ball Organisers Heloise De Satge and Thien Nguyen

Congratulations and good luck to the new Year 13 Student Leadership Team for the new academic year!

Thank you from Madam Sparkes to all the staff that made Futures Week 2016 a success!