First year A level, BTEC and CACHE students at Solihull Sixth Form College got a head start with their progression plans after College, thanks to the annual Careers & Higher Education Fair at the Widney Manor Road campus.
The Fair is one of the biggest of its kind in the country and saw more than 70 Higher Education, Apprenticeship and Employment providers attending. Staff from the visiting institutions set up stands in the College Sports Hall to hand out prospectus and answer questions that our Year 12 students had. Among the universities present were local providers Aston, Birmingham, Birmingham City, Newman, Coventry and Wolverhampton Universities. Many prestigious Russell Group universities were present from further afield too, including Exeter, Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Warwick.
Apprenticeship providers Skills for Success, Solihull Council and ASK Apprenticeships were in attendance to talk to those students who are considering progression routes other than Higher Education. Among the employers in attendance were KPMG, Metro Bank, WPR Agency, the Royal Navy and the RAF.
A programme of more than 25 talks were also taking place. Students booked places on these talks in advance and they included many curriculum area talks such as Chemistry, Economics, English, History, Geography & Geology, IT, Languages, Maths, Psychology and English. Career presentations in areas like Law, Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Teaching and STEM also took place to help guide students aiming to study Higher education courses in these areas. All of the talks were delivered by university staff and employers, with some also delivering more general sessions on how the UCAS application process works, apprenticeship options, and writing Personal Statements.
Careers Co-ordinator Emma Podmore organised the event. She commented:
“We are grateful to all the staff from across the Higher Education, Apprenticeship and Employment sectors for giving up their time to visit our campus. They provide a fantastic one-stop shop for our Year 12 learners to get thinking about their future after they leave the College. Most of our young people will be making applications this autumn, so they have got plenty of food for thought from this excellent morning of networking.”
5 July 2023