Further Careers Information
UCAS
Over 90% of our students move on to higher education after Year 13 with the other 10% choosing to enter the world of work or take a gap year opportunity. Our careers education and guidance programme covers all post-18 options but with a focus on university due the high percentage choosing to move on to this option. Preparing for higher education study is another key theme running through our curriculum across all year groups. We encourage our students to aim high because they can! We therefore ensure our programmes of careers education widen student knowledge of university league tables, Russell Group options and believing in themselves to aim for Oxbridge. Personalised advice is given through careers interviews throughout Years 11 – 13 but specific support for the UCAS application process begins in Year 12 through our Options 18+ events and UCAS Information events which include visiting speakers from a range of universities options. Students are supported every step of the way as they embark on their UCAS application which includes helping them to choose their five universities, visiting their options, promoting themselves in the best possible way through their personal statements and ensuring a strong UCAS application is submitted. Meeting our UCAS application deadline is not the end of the story though as we continue to advise the students as they move towards making firm and insurance choices and applying for student finance. Our job is not complete until every student is successfully placed by results day and this continues as our former students are able to return to the school to access ongoing careers guidance.
Work Experience
We recognise that work experience and community service is a very important aspect of positive career development and constantly encourage our students to develop their experiences during their time at Invicta. Work experience and Community Service can be completed in a variety of ways at Invicta, through Take Your Daughter to Work experiences, ongoing placements or block placements in the school holidays. We have a database of work experience contacts both locally, nationally and internationally which our students can use throughout the year and we spend time through workshops, PSHEE and one-to-one careers interviews, helping students to develop their CV writing skills and teaching them how to apply to for work experience places. We also support a range of voluntary and charitable organisations by providing students on placement. However, we also encourage our students to recognise the valuable experiences they can get through other extra-curricular commitments such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award, STEM Club or Debating Society to name but a few!
Oxbridge: Medicine, Veterinary Science, Dentistry
It is a well known fact that students interested in Oxbridge, Medicine, Veterinary Science or Dentistry options need quite specific support to enable them to be successful in these applications. This support starts early in the school through our Oxbridge workshops programme, Pre-Med Societies and individual careers interviews. We have a wealth of opportunities for students interested in these options to extend their personal skills, their work experiences and their leadership knowledge. These include university visits, medical links both locally, nationally and internationally as well as opportunities to complete work experience on the farm at our neighbouring school, Valley Park. Students who want to follow these options are positively encouraged to attend conferences such as MEDLINK or VetCam and are given one-to-one support in preparation for entrance tests and interviews. At Invicta we also have a programme of Extended Learning Lectures which we encourage all students to attend. These lectures are delivered by visiting speakers from a range of specialist areas, so that students extend their learning outside of the curriculum. Recent speakers have included Dr David Fox on the Role of Chemists in the discovery of new medicines; representatives of the department of Anglo Saxon, Norse and Celtic, Cambridge University on Law and Order in Anglo-Saxon England and Dr Nicola Humphry-Baker from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University on the Physics of Colour Our tailored programme of guidance and master classes provided for students interested in these options has proved very successful over a number of years.
International Study
We are keen to encourage our students to pursue adventures overseas - be this through travel or study. Each year a number of students choose to apply for university abroad and we have helped students to be successfully placed at universities in America, Japan and New Zealand to name a few. We also have developed links with Harvard and Yale universities and host an information evening for Years 10 – 13 students across the South East which is delivered by the International Admissions Tutors. This provides students with the best advice when applying for international university options. Our students also have the opportunity to visit Harvard or Yale on a biannual basis.
Gap Year
A Gap Year can be a time for thinking, for personal development, for travelling, for acquiring a new skill, for earning money to help fund a future course of study or for voluntary work. At Invicta, we encourage students to see the benefits of taking a Gap Year after Year 13 and through the Careers Department, we help them tailor their plans whatever they may be! Students can choose to travel to help them to learn about different cultures, to improve language fluency, and to gain independence and maturity.
There are a range of Gap Year projects available and students are advised of these through careers interviews and Options 18+ events in the school. We also have links with schools abroad, who will happily support our students in securing an internship during a Gap Year experience. Some of our students choose to take a Gap Year to develop further work experience, to help them confirm future plans or they do a further education course, often vocational, to extend their skills in an area of interest before moving on to academic study at university.
