Think Freemen’s
Welcome to Freemen’s
From Roland Martin, Headmaster
This event is an integral part of our ability to help young people to make informed decisions about their futures and I am delighted that we are hosting it. An important investment in an area that can cause so much confusion for young people.
Gen Z has been raised on the internet and social media as well as being uniquely challenged by the recent pandemic –school and university experiences differing significantly from the experiences of their predecessors. However, the ability to use those social media skills and to network with others provides an opportunity for this generation to strengthen their social skills and grow professional networks in the future.
One thing that has not changed in the last few years is what employers feel is important for young people to pick up on their way to the workforce, soft skills: creativity, collaboration, communication, networking, teamwork as well as emotional intelligence, resilience (which many young people have demonstrated in spades of late) and reliability.
It has been clear for years that the world that we are preparing children to enter is an uncertain and unpredictable place and that many of the jobs that they will be enjoying in the future are not currently in existence. In truth, I suspect it has ever been thus: I see a plethora of jobs that my school friends do that didn’t exist when we were trawling through the Careers Room at school. What this means, of course is that Freemen’s needs to ensure that the children in its care adopt the skills required – many listed above – to adapt to the uncertainty ahead of them and that they are well-informed aboutthe possibilities and opportunities that await, too. Which is why we host events like the Future Pathways Fair at the School.
For most of our students, the next step will be further education and British Universities are a world-leader in what they do; it is good to have so many of them represented here this evening. Some of our pupils may look to Universities abroad and others may look to the work-place with high level Apprenticeships, for example, being an increasingly attractive prospect for some young people including students at our School. It is good to welcome leading employers to our fair this evening who I hope will sow seeds and inspire pupils as they look around, giving a flavour of what might lie ahead. And for those pupils who will be considering a Gap year, I am delighted that they will have avenues to explore at this evening’s event. I would add that service is an important part of a Gap year (work to get some money; spend some time making a difference for others; do something for you) and hope that those considering this option will have that in mind.
Of course, this event is not just aimed at our own students, and it is good to welcome many visiting students to this event, not least from our partner schools in the state sector; I hope that they will find the evening valuable as they plan their future pathways.
I am very grateful to all who have given so generously of their time to organise this evening’s convention and to those who will be interacting with pupils this evening: it will no doubt be an inspiring evening and is certainly a very important event in the Freemen’s calendar.
Careers (Orangery and Old Study)
• Air Products plc
• ALPS Partnership Limited
• Arch Dental Surgery
• BP
• Broadcast Journalism
• Careers at Sea
• Careers in Accountancy (Croner-i)
• Chartered Quality Institute
• Civil Service
• Forvis Mazars LLP
• KBR and Frazer-Nash Consultancy
• Landmark Chambers
• M3 Consulting
• Mott MacDonald
• Ortom8
• Rawlinson & Hunter LLP
• Royal Air Force
• Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
• Surrey Police
• Teaching
• Thomas Franks Ltd
• W H Matthews & Co
Education Establishments (Sixth Form Common Room)
• Cardiff University
• Durham University
• IE University
• Imperial College London
• Keystone Sports
• Lancaster University
• Loughborough University
• Newcastle University
• Queen's University Belfast
• Ravensbourne University London
• Royal Holloway University
• Royal Veterinary College
• Swiss Education Group
• The University Guys
• Trinity Laban
• UCL
• University for the Creative Arts
• University of Bath
• University of Birmingham
• University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada
• University of Derby
• University of Exeter
• University of Kent
• University of Nottingham
• University of Roehampton
• University of Southampton
• University of Surrey
• University of Warwick
Gap Organisations (Livery Room)
• Art History Abroad
• GapGuru
• Oyster Worldwide
• Ski Le Gap
• The Language Gap
Locations
Careers
Orangery and Old Study (Main House location 13)
Education
Sixth Form Common Room (Main House location 13)
Gap
Livery Room (Main House location 13)
Talks
Music Recital Hall (Map location 11)
6.45pm Looking at Apprenticeships as an Alternative to University by Sue Taylor, Network Manager, ALPS Partnership Ltd
7.30pm ‘Choosing and Applying to Competitive Universities’ by George Dorrity, UG Student Recruitment Officer, University of Bath
Music Recital Hall (11)Talks Main House (13)Exhibitors
Ideas of what to ask
Here are some questions you might want to think about asking the university representatives:
• Is the university in the town or country?
• Is it a small or large university?
• Is it campus or non-campus?
• Will I have hall of residence or rented accommodation?
• Is there a range of activities, clubs and societies?
• What is the nightlife and social life like?
• What is the male to female ratio?
• What are the contact hours likely to be for your course?
• What sports facilities are there?
• What’s the university’s reputation?
• What’s the general ambience of the university and the university town?
• How many graduates progress to full time graduate employment within 6 months?
• How many employers target your university?
Here are some questions you might want to think about asking the company representatives:
• What does the work involve day to day?
• What education and training are required?
• What are the promotion prospects?
• What kind of person is suited to this job?
• What skills are needed to do the job?
• Do you have to work as part of a team or on your own?
• Does it involve meeting people?
• Is the job mainly in the office or remote?
• Does it involve travel?
• Is it necessary to be physically strong?
• Where would you get such a job? Is it available locally?
• What does the representative like or dislike about the job?
• Are there opportunities for work experience?
Visit www.freemens.org @hellofreemens
City of London Freemen’s School, Ashtead Park, Surrey, KT21 1ET