Professional Guidance
The Professional Guidance Centre (PGC) draws together Higher Education and Careers advice and prepares our girls for the challenges of working in today’s fast-changing, high-tech and competitive global market.
We achieve this in a variety of ways. From LC1 (Year 7) up, we run Saturday sessions which help prepare students for their future in an engaging, enlightening and fun way. We work on developing their professional transferrable skills, their understanding of the world of work, and awareness of the wide variety of routes open to them. Subject teachers and tutors are highly instrumental in further developing girls’ awareness of their own challenges and opportunities, and play a crucial role in supporting well-considered decisions in GCSE, AS/A level and IB choices.
From UC5 (Year 11) and up, girls are invited to attend our innovative ‘Networking Dinners’, which provide the chance to meet and ask questions of individuals (parents, Guild members and work contacts) from a particular field. We also work with the Independent Schools Careers Organisation (ISCO) to ensure every girl has the opportunity to undertake an in-depth psychometric test which gives pointers to personality, skills and potential job fits. Students are encouraged to undertake work experience after their GCSE examinations, and to continue to do so as they move into the Sixth Form.
In the Sixth Form, students have a wealth of opportunities to meet representatives from universities. Every year we welcome speakers from Oxford, Cambridge, the London Universities as well as a variety of Russell Group and 1994 Group universities. A number of US admissions tutors visit too; girls often hear from these tutors over an informal lunch or an afternoon talk. Parents are invited to a University Forum to hear directly from admissions tutors about what universities are looking for and the admissions process.
Following AS examinations, girls attend a number of Higher Education and Careers-related events such as ‘Facing the Future’ in which Guild members share their career paths and decisions, a Gap Year and Careers fair, and sessions on interview skills. Training on UCAS and personal statements is delivered by the PGC and tutors, and girls are encouraged to attend a number of university Open Days. All girls are allocated a subject mentor who works on their further reading and personal statement with them, and students attend subject-specific university preparation classes run by departments to enrich understanding and prepare for any admissions tests. Mock interviews are offered, and a thorough review is made of each student’s UCAS form before submission. Girls are well supported and advised through the results process, and those who have opted to apply from gap years can be assured of the same level of support and guidance.
The Centre’s resources and staff are housed in a dedicated area and include a well-stocked Higher Education, Gap Year and Careers library, and a research area with computers and university prospectuses. The PGC intranet site is an excellent source of information for students, as well as up to the minute news on relevant issues. Furthermore, we are extremely well-resourced in terms of the access students have to personal, one-to-one support. Alongside dedicated PGC group and one-to-one sessions at crucial decision-making points in a student’s College career, students are free to book in to talk to a member of staff whenever they feel in need of support, information or a listening ear.
The Professional Guidance Team
Mrs Justine Hale Manager of Higher Education Advice
Miss Caroline Ralph Assistant Head of the Professional Guidance Centre
Miss Kathryn Buckingham US University Adviser
Mrs Anne Coleman Administrative Assistant and US University Adviser
Mrs Jo Wintle Head of Professional Guidance