We are expecting all Year 12 level 3 students to take part in work experience week (17 July to 21 July 2023).

Students should look for opportunities that will enhance and strengthen their UCAS and/or apprenticeship applications.

Work experience will help them to develop skills, such as communication, organisation and team-working skills. They can then highlight these on their UCAS/apprenticeship applications in Year 13.

Also, some university courses will expect relevant work experience – for example, nursing and medicine (this doesn’t have to be in a hospital, could be a care home, hospice etc.).

Students are expected to find their own placement and have been given advice about how to do this. Any opportunities the school has will be promoted directly to students (such as the GP Medical Programme that was launched to students on 10 January 2023).

Finding a good placement takes time. Students should not leave it to the last minute!

Did you know?

A large number of graduate jobs are open to graduates of any degree discipline and specialist training for many careers starts once you have your degree.

Brian Heap writes (in his University Degree Course Offers book) that a degree course is not always a training path for a career; its purpose is also to teach students skills that can easily be adapted to different careers. That is why it is not unusual, for example, to find students who have degrees in history or languages going on to train as accountants and lawyers and many other non-scientific careers.

How to develop degree course ideas? Consider the following 7 questions: (students are committing at least 3 years to their degree, so they should choose something they are going to enjoy)

1. Do they want to study a health related degree? A good starting point is the NHS Careers Quiz: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/findyourcareer There are more than 350 different careers in the NHS. Many work with patients while others work behind the scenes. What they all have in common is that they make a difference to people’s lives. To find the NHS careers that best suits them, all they need to do is answer some simple questions.
2. Do they want to study one or more subjects they are currently doing? 
3. Do they want to study a subject they are currently studying with something new?
4. Do they want to study something related to one of their current subjects, but not that subject? For example, if studying sport, related courses include sports studies, sports science, PE, sports coaching, sports management, sports marketing, sports therapy, exercise science and teaching.
5. Do they have a career in mind and wish to take a specific degree? Examples include primary teaching, social work, speech & language therapy, audiology, medicine, veterinary science, pharmacy, optometry, nursing, midwifery, dentistry, radiography, optometry, physiotherapy, sport therapy and architecture.
6. Do they want to study a general vocational course? Examples include art & design; business/finance; computing/IT; education; engineering; health & social and sport.
7. Does your daughter/son want to see where their current subjects can take them? Use the following 2 websites to get degree ideas based on the subjects they are currently studying:

SACU: https://sacu-student.com/?page_id=5203 Students need to create an account and then use the “Match your A levels” to get degree subject ideas.

Informed Choices: https://www.informedchoices.ac.uk/ Russell Group universities guide that helps you explore how A level choices link to future degree options, particularly at Russell Group universities.

Did you know?

In 2022, the 5 most popular universities for Moseley School students were:

1. Birmingham City University.
2. Wolverhampton University.
3. Aston University.
4. Birmingham University.
5. Coventry University.

Examples of other universities that students went to are Nottingham University, Manchester University, McTimoney College of Chiropractic, Leicester University, The University of Law, University College Birmingham, Worcester University and Sheffield Hallam University.

The 5 most popular course types were:

1. Health/medical. For example, pharmacy, nursing, medicine, radiography, dentistry, optometry and chiropractic.
2. Science. For example, biomedical science, pharmaceutical science and chemistry.
3. Computing. For example, computer science, cyber security, computing/IT and cloud computing.
4. Engineering. For example, civil engineering, aerospace engineering and robotics.
5. Business/finance. For example, accounting and finance, business and management, business and tourism management and accounting and Islamic finance.

Examples of other courses that students are studying are psychology, law/criminology, English, early childhood studies, maths, social work and construction management.

Research is needed to make informed choices:

There are over 37,000 courses and 370 higher education institutions, so research is the key to making an informed decision about what to study and where.

Students need to complete this research by the end of Year 12 so that they are ready to apply at the start of Year 13.

Students can choose up to five courses. However, they can only choose a maximum of four medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science courses (the fifth choice course must be something different).

Encourage your daughter or son to follow these 4 research steps:

1. Start with the UCAS website: https://www.ucas.com/ The course search informs you about all the universities that do a particular course.
2. Then go to university websites for more in-depth course research, including grades needed, course details, how it is taught/assessed, academic facilities, reputation and graduate destinations to see what careers the students go into after their degree.
3. Attend university open days: https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/what-and-where-study/events-and-open-days Ideally, students shouldn’t apply anywhere they’ve not visited.
4. Then use the following useful websites for further research.

• The Guardian university league tables: https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2022/sep/24/the-guardian-university-guide-2023-the-rankings
• What can I do with my degree? https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree
• The UniGuide: https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/

Degree Apprenticeships were launched by the government in 2015 and have been developed by businesses, universities and colleges.

Apprentices get real on-the-job experience in their chosen profession and split their time between university study and the workplace and will be employed throughout. They gain a full bachelor’s or master’s degree from a top university while earning a wage and they don’t have to pay university tuition fees, saving them £9,250 a year!

The UCAS website: www.ucas.com Has lots of useful information about degree apprenticeships.

Your daughter or son can search and apply for degree apprenticeships when they are in Year 13 by using the National Apprenticeship Service website: www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

They can also check out employer websites if they have a particular employer in mind.

Students can also apply for higher and advanced level apprenticeships.

Other useful apprenticeship websites are:

• Get my first job: https://www.getmyfirstjob.co.uk/
• Rate my apprenticeship: https://www.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk/apprenticeships   
• Not going to uni: https://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk/
• Prospects: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/apprenticeships/degree-apprenticeships

Students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to pay for university tuition fees (currently up-to £9,250 for full-time courses).

Students can also apply for a Maintenance Loan, which helps to pay for living costs while studying at university, such as accommodation, food, travel and clothes. The amount you get depends on where you are living and whether you are living at home. For example, 2022 starters living at home could get up-to £8,171. Some of the loan is available to all eligible students and part of it is means-tested, so this part is dependent on household income.

Repayments are linked to their income. When they leave university they only repay when they are earning is above the current figure of £2,274 a month. They would pay 9% of everything they earn above £2,274 a month.

More information is on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/student-finance

Martin Lewis, from the ITV programme “The Martin Lewis Money Show”, also provides very useful information on his MoneySavingExpert website:  https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes/

Did you know?

The reasons for students taking a gap year vary. They include:

• Using the time to review future plans.
• To go travelling.
• To do work experience (possibly linked to their chosen course or future career plans).
• To develop new skills.
• To earn money to fund their university place.
• To volunteer in the UK or abroad.

 For more information, check out the Prospects website: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/gap-year

The school provides lots of support during Year 12 and Year 13 to help your daughter or son make an informed post-18 decision. Examples include:

• An opportunity for a careers meeting with the school’s qualified careers adviser, Mr Silgram.
• A presentation from the school’s careers adviser about post-18 options.
• Mentoring and development opportunities, such as The Access Project and the Birmingham University A2B Scheme.
• University talks and presentations, including information about student finance.
• Visit to the UCAS Convention to meet universities.
• Visit to a university.
• A school UCAS Day to help students start planning what to study at university and where to study.
• Support to write their UCAS personal statement.
• Talks from employers to raise awareness of careers and apprenticeship opportunities.
• The opportunity to attend an apprenticeship talk/event.
• Work experience week.
• Careers advice and support on A level results day.
• The careers section of the school website.

Students and parents/carers can also use the careers section of the school website to help make an informed decision about what to do after Year 13.

It includes further information about all the topics in this newsletter. There are 13 sections; you may find it helpful to check-out the following ones:

• Post-18 options
• Apprenticeships and traineeships
• Jobs and voluntary work
• University applications
• Useful websites and information

Click here for more information