Universities & Careers

The school has a well-resourced Careers Room, which is available for research from early morning until late evening, seven days a week.  There are up to date books and magazines, as well as videos and DVDs, and access is available to the internet.  The Shells (year 9) are introduced to the facilities of the Careers Room at an early stage in their first term.

Careers advice is, however, not left to chance, and there is a structured programme of guidance to help the pupils with their decisions at various stages of their passage through the school, beginning with advice over GCSE choices at the end of the Shell year. Much of this advice at this stage is delivered through the House-based tutorial system. 

Later, aptitude and interest testing is offered, work experience is encouraged and the options for Higher Education are considered.  Careers experience courses, including those organised by ISCO, the Independent Schools' Careers Organisation of which the School is a member, are much valued options and interview training forms a part of the preparation for university application.  Seminars and lectures are organised, for pupils and parents, designed to explain and offer advice, and pupils attend university Open Days and Higher Education Conventions. The very popular and worthwhile option of a gap year is also thoroughly explored.

For Oxbridge successes in the past five years, please click here.

A recent and very valuable innovation has been the Careers Symposium, organised jointly with the Old Canfordians, who provide the bulk of the fifty or so speakers at this event, held towards the end of the Summer Term principally for the benefit of the Lower Sixth (year 12), each speaker talking to small groups of interested pupils about his or her career.

As well as its links with ISCO, the school has a good working relationship with Connexions, and uses the services of Cambridge Occupational Analysts for testing programmes.  The armed forces careers liaison officers visit the school termly to talk to those interested, and other organisations such as "Year in Industry" are regular visitors.

Shells
  • Advice on GCSE Courses
Fifth Form
  • Careers Aptitude & Interest Tests
  • Careers Interviews
  • Introduction to Careers Resource Room
  • Advice on A level choices
Lower Sixth
  • Careers Courses & Conferences
  • Advice on Gap year work experience and sponsorship
  • Academic Tutors’ advice on higher education
Upper Sixth
  • Interview Experience Course
  • Completion of UCAS forms
  • University visits

Destination by Institution 2011                                                                          

Anglia Ruskin 1

Bath 5

Birmingham 1

Bristol 9

Bristol UWE 2

Brighton & Sussex Med Sch 1

Buckingham 1

Cambridge 6

Cardiff 19

Durham 6

East Anglia 1

Edinburgh 2

Exeter 3

Glamorgan 1

Glasgow 1

Heriot Watt 1

Imperial 2

KCL 2

Leeds 8

Leicester 2

London Met 1

LSE 1

Loughborough 2

Manchester 9

Manchester Met 2

Newcastle 5

Nottingham 5

Nottingham Trent 1

Oxford 2

Oxford Brookes 5

Peninsular Coll of Med 1

Plymouth 4

Queen Mary’s Coll 1

Queen Mary UL 1

Reading 1

Royal Holloway 4

St George's 1

Sheffield 1

Sheffield Hallam 1

Southampton 2

St Andrew's 1

Surrey 2

Sussex 3

Trinity St David's 1

UCL 7

Warwick 1

York 2

97% of applicants placed as at 13 September 2011.

Parents are encouraged to be involved in their child's career planning, and are very welcome to contact the Head of Careers direct at any time.

David Dodwell – Head of Careers dad@canford.com