Dear Parent/Carer,

Please see below information that was shared with you last term in relation to Year 13 options and pathways. We thought this was an ideal time to remind you of the following information and invite any questions you may have.

Broadly speaking, your son/daughter has the following options:

      • Apprenticeships
      • University
      • Employment
      • School leaver programmes
      • Study overseas
      • Gap year

Your son/daughter may be considering more than one of these as a choice and we would encourage that, so that once offers have been received, a fully informed decision about their future can be made.

Last academic year we worked closely with Northumbria University and Amazing Apprenticeships to provide you with pre-recorded sessions to help you support your son/daughter on their progression journey. As a reminder, the sessions from Northumbria cover the kind of things that your son/daughter should be considering now and in the coming months along with a session on student finance. The session on student finance is relevant regardless of where you son/daughter applies. It is worth considering that each university offers a range of different bursaries and scholarships, details of which can be found on individual university websites.

Transition to HE – https://vimeo.com/565964088/aaf9247117

Student finance – https://vimeo.com/565980263/1aaef01dd4

Our internal UCAS deadline is 30th September for any student applying for an early entry course and/or university and 1st November for all other courses. Please note, forms will not be sent on these dates. The early deadline allows the college time to check all forms thoroughly and provide students with the help, advice and guidance we feel they benefit from as part of our internal support processes.

Students will continue to benefit from the comprehensive support programme of careers guidance from our specialist team. The year 13 careers page on Teams, which your son/daughter can access, has regular updates, including opportunities open to students to participate in online events to help them research their future options.  Over the coming weeks we have speakers coming into college to deliver presentations on various topics, including applying to university. Students are able to make one to one appointments with our specialist HE Careers Adviser, Bev Scaife. If you would like to speak to with Bev, or have any specific queries, please email her at bscaife@ems.bhcet.org.uk.

Should you have anything you would specifically like to discuss with the Sixth Form Team, we are proposing to hold an informal session on Tuesday 28th September from 5.30-6.30pm. Please complete the link below to indicate whether you intend on taking up this offer: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=-OvlemCWl0mB-Fxg9M2FOARlvc81OCJKq36AKUh3EEpUN0dYNUdJS0JBMFJVNVRKMjhHWjFaME4yNi4u

Yours faithfully,

Mrs C Hogarth
Deputy Headteacher