20 January 2020
Speakers from four of the UK’s top universities (and some of the most popular universities with Woldingham students), Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter and Sussex, joined us on Thursday 16 January for our Higher Education Information Evening for Lower Sixth and Year 11 parents and students. Following our UCAS launch to Lower Sixth students in November, this was a chance for our students and their parents to hear from universities themselves on a range of higher education related topics, aimed at helping them make more informed choices.
The university presentations covered:
- ‘Choosing a course and university’ – what are the important factors to consider?
- ‘The application process’, including applying to UCAS, making firm and insurance choices, and applying through Clearing
- ‘Applying to competitive universities’, identifying the most competitive courses and what universities are looking for in applications
- ‘Applying to Scottish universities’ – a popular choice for our students - highlighting in particular how the Scottish degree structure differs from English universities.
This year, we invited an expert speaker on behalf of AskApprenticeships to speak on the increasingly exciting opportunities for degree and higher apprenticeships. We also heard the thoughts of Jason Smith, founder of UES Education which advises parents and students on applying to US and overseas universities, on why higher education in the US is an interesting proposition.
Following the presentations, and a Q&A session, parents and students had the option to attend breakout sessions on courses or universities with specialised requirements or application processes, or to ask our panel further questions on an informal basis over drinks. The breakout sessions were led by members of our in-house Higher Education team and our guests and covered:
- ‘Applying to Oxbridge’ (Miss Georgie Noble)
- ‘Applying to Medicine, Veterinary Science and Dentistry courses’ (Miss Jamie Gallagher)
- ‘Applying to US universities’ – (Mrs Aly Mason and Jason Smith from UES Education)
- ‘Higher and Degree Apprenticeships’ (Ms Sue Taylor, ALP Surrey)
The event was very well received by parents and students who found it very informative. Parents may be pleased to know that presentations given are available via the Parents Portal.