Careers and Higher Education Guidance Policy
Issue Date: June 2025
Review Date: June 2026
Careers and Higher Education Guidance Policy
1. Introduction
1.1 The purpose of Careers and Higher Education Guidance is to help pupils make wellinformed choices about the higher education options and careers available to them
1.2 This policy provides an overview of the resources available to pupils from people and companies to literature and online resources; and an overview of the stages pupils work through in order to achieve their goals.
2 Staff
2.1 The staff involved in the Careers and Higher Education guidance services provided by the School are as follows:
o Andrew Day, Head of Senior School
o Natasha Alexander, Head of Lower School
o Iain Trafford, Head of Upper School
o Dr Arthur Firkins, Head of Learning Support & Master of the Scholars
o Head of Sixth Form (from Sep 2026)
o Head of Careers (from Sep 2025)
o Deputy Head of Sixth Form and Head of University Applications (from Sep 2026)
2.2 Further support is available from:
o Housemaster and Housemistresses (HSMs)
o Personal Tutors
3 The Careers Education Programme
3.1 Careers Education is the planned provision of lessons and activities to help pupils manage their continuing development in the context of their choices of education, qualifications and employment.
3.2 Impartial careers guidance can help pupils focus on their own choices and make wellinformed career and course decisions, including the range of options available immediately after leaving Uppingham Cairo.
3.3 The Careers Department will work closely with a range of external providers and professional partners as the oldest children in the school move into the Upper School and beyond including Foresight Careers, InvestIn and Millie Group
3.4 Unifrog will be introduced from September 2025 to all pupils in the 3rd Form (and older year groups thereafter) to provide a centralised platform for gathering and monitoring careers education and skills development information.
3.5 The Head of Careers will work closely with the HSM and Personal Tutor teams to ensure that pupils are provided with all the information, support and guidance they need. Parents are welcome to contact the School at any time with any questions.
4 Third Form
4.1 Pupils are briefed on the importance of making the most of the UPP&Out cocurricular programme to build skills and aptitudes useful for future career choices.
4.2 Introduced to the Careers Education programme; completion of KUDOS programme; link to GCSE subject choices
5 Fourth Form
5.1 Designated careers lessons take place as part of the Study Skills programme and there is an introduction to the Careers Library (including IT and on-line resources).
5.2 Results of the KUDOS programme revisited and introduction to UniFrog system.
6 Fifth Form
6.1 MyFutureChoice aptitude tests and careers interest questionnaire completed after mock GCSEs. These immediately provide a personalised skills and careers report, which provides a basis for discussions with parents, personal tutors and Housemasters/Housemistresses prior to Sixth Form choices and future degree, and career choices.
6.2 Each House also has a session on how to interpret the results.
6.3 Pupils have the opportunity to discuss their report in more detail with the Head of Careers.
7 Sixth Form
7.1 Throughout the Lower Sixth pupils engage with three workshops from Foresight Careers providing information on the nature of the labour market and how to access and apply for jobs, including the use of social media.
7.2 CV writing and Interview Training Workshops offered to Lower Sixth in Spring Term.
7.3 Lower Sixth are surveyed on potential areas of interest for career talks (see below).
8 Senior School Opportunities
8.1 ‘Spotlight’ Careers evenings happen throughout the year using current parents and visitors to deliver sessions on specific careers (open to all Lower School year groups).
8.2 Fortnightly whole-school Future Choices Bulletin highlights talks, webinars and opportunities both internally and externally.
8.3 All pupils have the option of career guidance advice from the Head of Careers and are guided to the Careers Service by personal tutors and the HSMs.
9 Work Experience
9.1 Work shadowing and experience is highly recommended and pupils are actively encouraged to seek such experience in their holidays, particularly following GCSEs and in the Lower Sixth.
10 Specific career-related work experience is vital for certain careers and courses (including medicine and veterinary science) and useful for others particularly if the subject is not taught at school, e.g. surveying or engineering, but any such
experience also provides the opportunity to discover whether certain careers are ‘right’ for the individual
11 Being able to demonstrate having done charitable or volunteering work is also important for university applications and for future job applications, and opportunities are made available to all Upper School and 6th Form pupils through the UPP&Out programme
12 Communication with Parents
12.1 All parents have access to the Future Choices Bulletin through UPPCNet
12.2 The Head of Careers writes to parents at certain points throughout their child’s time at Uppingham Cairo as detailed below:
o 3rd and 4th Form: at the end of the academic year about components of the Careers Education programme for the following year.
o 5th Form: at the end of the Spring term, explaining the MyFutureChoices questionnaires and encouraging parents to set up work experience for the summer.
o Lower Sixth: at the start of the Winter Term, offering parents the chance to sign their children up for Foresight Careers, and in January for CV writing and Interview workshops, as well as providing encouragement for further work experience.
12.3 Parents of new pupils are surveyed to identify people willing to offer career advice and/or work experience.
13 Higher Education
13.1 Most pupils at Uppingham Cairo are likely to approach a career through a university degree, and thus the focus in the Sixth Form is very much on university entry. Few careers are degree-specific, and the main task of the Sixth Form staff team is to steer Sixth Formers towards courses which fit their aptitude and inclination, at a university which suits them.
14 The Higher Education Process Lower Sixth
14.1 In September the Lower Sixth can complete the MyUniversityChoice survey that gives them impartial advice about possible degree courses of interest and how to research them further. They then discuss the outcomes with their personal tutors or Housemasters/Housemistresses.
14.2 A Higher Education Options briefing is held at the beginning of the Spring Term for parents to explain the university application process for global university entry, including applying to the universities in Egypt, the United States, UCAS and Oxbridge procedures
14.3 Lower Sixth are given a general introduction to Higher Education as a year group by the Head of Sixth Form (they receive a detailed guidance booklet) and in the following weeks pupils regularly discuss their current thinking and plans regarding their future beyond the School, with their personal tutors whether it is HE or not.
14.4 During this term prospective Oxbridge, Medicine etc and overseas university applicants can attend talks about what to consider and how to proceed.
14.5 At the end of the Spring Term there is a Careers and Higher Education fair for the Fifth Form and Lower Sixth where pupils can speak to the Heads of Department about study their or related subjects at university.
14.6 Following the internal School exams in the Summer term, the Lower Sixth have a Higher Education morning in which they attend a talk from university admissions tutors about the application process, followed by a more specific talk on the Egyptian and US university and UCAS process (they receive a detailed guidance booklet).
14.7 In the last couple of weeks of the Summer Term the Lower Sixth are encouraged to register on to UCAS and start filling out the application form.
14.8 In the Summer Term, pupils applying to US universities complete their SAT examinations and create accounts on the Common App application platform
14.9 Most universities host open days in June and July which pupils can attend.
14.10 During the summer holidays pupils are encouraged to embark on relevant workexperience, get to the final draft of their personal statements and work on their UCAS forms
Upper Sixth
14.11 The Upper Sixth attend a talk by the Head of Sixth Form to go over key aspects of the application process.
14.12 At any stage, the Upper Sixth have the opportunity to discuss their current plans with their personal tutor, HSM or member of the Sixth Form staff team
14.13 University applications can be submitted from the beginning of September. The forms are submitted via their personal tutor and then checked and sent by the Sixth Form staff team.
14.14 The deadlines for applications are as follows:
o Mid-October: Oxbridge/Medical/Veterinary/Dentistry applications in the UK
o December to January: US Universities is from December to January depending on the institution
o Mid-January: all other UCAS applications
o 1 March: Early application American University in Cairo
o 1 June: Regular application American University in Cairo
14.15 The optimum time for completing university applications is between early September and mid-October.
14.16 In the Summer term the Upper Sixth are told about how to manage A level / IBDP results day and a booklet detailing all that the university entry / clearing processes entail, what happens on exam results day and so on is sent to parents.
15 Post Uppingham Cairo
15.1 Pupils wishing to re-apply to university post A-level receive support from the Head of Sixth Form and the Careers team team
16 Feedback to Parents
16.1 The Personal Tutors monitor the progress of Higher Education applications and are the main point of contact for information about their progress. Parents are welcome to contact the Head of Careers directly for information about course and
university choices and to find out what happens after the forms have been submitted.