14
Highgate leavers gained
places to study medicine (2019)
Higher education and careers
Selecting the right university, degree and career can be daunting. Our Careers and Employability Specialist, and experienced Sixth Form team, provide advice and guidance.
Higher education support
With thousands of degree programmes available in the UK alone, picking the right institution and course can be challenging. Highgate’s Sixth Form team, with Heads of House, tutors, and higher education representatives, assist our sixth formers throughout the university application process, helping you to apply for courses in the UK and abroad.
Preparations for university begin in Year 12, with:
- higher education talks
- visits to universities
- higher education event with representatives from most Russell Group universities
- North American university fair attended by major colleges
82%
The percentage of Highgate leavers who, in 2019, were placed at their first choice university
PERSONAL MENTORS
Each sixth former is assigned a personal mentor from our teaching body, who will guide and support you in planning and preparing your university applications. In this way, we ensure that we offer individually-tailored support to each sixth former regarding university admissions in the UK and abroad. We also have two members of staff to support applications to North American universities and each year send sixth formers to top-ranking institutions in the USA and Canada.
SPECIALIST TEACHERS
Our subject specialist teachers provide personalised guidance about available university courses, while our extension classes let you go beyond the classroom and further develop your interests. These extension classes also help to foster intellectual independence amongst our sixth formers and introduce subjects not taught at Highgate, like anthropology, architecture, law, sociology, and medicine.
We are justly proud of the higher education achievements of Highgate sixth formers, who study and thrive in universities across the globe.
'I now know how to approach work experience and interviews for my chosen industry' —Highgate sixth former, 2019
‘It was extremely useful to speak to delegates, who specialised in a particular field of work' —Highgate sixth former, 2019
11
Highgate leavers joined top tier
US and Canadian colleges (2019)
Careers and employability support
Highgate supports all sixth formers in making informed choices about their future career. We have a full-time Careers and Employability Specialist, based in our Senior School Careers Office, who works closely with Highgate’s Deputy Head (Pupils’ Personal Development and Employability) to ensure everyone receives up-to-date, relevant and useful careers advice.
Our active careers programme is designed to help our sixth formers understand themselves, their personal preferences/interests, and their strengths and attribute. It also provides opportunities to explore and understand the huge range of options available after Highgate.
- Activities and events
- Bookable one-to-one careers conversations with our Careers and Employability Specialist ensure you gain impartial and independent guidance, explore individual career options, develop your CV, and work on applications for apprenticeships, volunteering and gap year opportunities.
- Our compulsory four-week carousel of PSHE lessons in Year 12, delivered by specialist teachers, starts you thinking about future employability
- Our annual careers fair lets you talk to 60+ representatives from different employment fields
- Mentoring opportunities with industry figures ensure you get to talk about your interests and start thinking about future employment
- Practice job interviews in Year 12, plus advice on preparing and submitting a CV, prepare you for future job applications and interviews
- Employability days let you learn more about writing cover letters, preparing for interviews and finding work experience
- A wide range of careers events and talks lets you get more advice on employability and careers options, apprenticeships opportunities, and taking a gap year
30
Over 30 universities, including Russell Group
institutions, attend our annual HE fair
At Highgate, our holistic approach understands that each teacher has a role to play in helping sixth formers and pupils be ‘ready for work’. Our tutors monitor the personal development of their tutees, while all Highgate sixth formers receive individual specialist support and advice when choosing university courses.
In addition, we are lucky to be able to draw on the experience and expertise of our dedicated parent body and alumni community, who provide significant support for our many initiatives. If you are interested in providing support in this way, please contact us.
By offering an extensive and dedicated careers and employability programme, we ensure all Highgate sixth formers get the support and advice needed to make important decisions about their future career.
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