Post-Shiplake Advice

Head of Careers: Mrs Louise Rapple Moore

Introduction

Many of our sixth formers go on to some form of higher education, and finding a way through the plethora of institutions and courses can be a daunting task. Others will take gap years, take up apprenticeships or head straight into their working careers. We provide our Year 12 and 13 pupils with the support and resources they require to make well-informed decisions for their next steps.

Support and Advice

All members of the sixth form have a weekly careers period factored in to their timetables. Our Head of Careers works alongside pupils to identify suitable and desirable careers and to find paths which allow them to reach their goals. Pupils have access to a wide range of careers and higher education resources in the Careers Department.

During Year 12, the College runs a Futures Programme, to get pupils thinking about what they might like to do after Shiplake. During this week, there are presentations from speakers in all different industries and career areas, from Armed Forces to Environmental Sciences, from American universities to Oxbridge applications and from retail and event management careers to apprenticeships. In Year 13 the Careers periods focus on applying for universities, apprenticeships and jobs, and the Careers staff and individual tutors support and guide pupils through their applications

Will my Sixth Form options affect my university application?

Pupils with a particular profession or course in mind should undertake thorough research courses to make sure they choose the right subjects in the Sixth Form. Pupils are always welcome to consult the Careers Department for advice on suitable subjects before making a final decision on which courses to take. Some universities specify that particular A Level subjects are essential to access different degree courses and have strict entrance criteria. Pupils unsure which degree subject to pursue are encouraged to keep their options open by choosing subjects in a variety of fields.

Leavers’ Destinations

Many Shiplake College leavers proceed directly to university, but others embark on a gap year, take up an apprenticeship or go straight into employment. The most popular courses in 2020 relate to business and marketing, with sports-related courses and economics/ finance the next most popular areas. Recent cohorts have demonstrated the strength of Shiplake’s careers provision: the vast majority of our applicants secure places at their first or second choices of university, with just a handful of leavers each year making use of the clearing process in search of a place.

In recent years, pupils have proceeded to a range of leading higher education institutions including Oxford and Cambridge and Ivy League (USA) institutions. In 2020, eight of our pupils gained places at universities ranked in the top ten in the country (Durham, Loughborough and Bath) and 32% of the year group were offered places at Russell Group universities (up from 25% in 2019). Nearly 60% of this year’s cohort gained places at universities ranked in the top third of the league tables, including Edinburgh, Exeter, Warwick, Nottingham, Royal Holloway, Newcastle, Cardiff, Birmingham, Liverpool, UEA and Surrey. The most popular universities this year were Royal Holloway, Cardiff and Oxford Brookes.