IN FOCUS 2021
Futures - Careers Upper Sixth destined for great futures
will be at my fingertips with the Emirates Stadium only 20 minutes’ walk away from Whitechapel Campus.”
The strength of character, determination to succeed and consistent perseverance of our Upper Sixth students during what has been probably the most testing period of their lives, has shown remarkable rewards by the excellent degree and apprenticeship offers they have received. Three Oxbridge offers, four medicine and two dentistry, are part of a cohort that sees over 70 per cent looking forward to starting degrees at Russell Group universities in the next academic year. The range of interests and courses is also quite staggering for a group of 57 students. From Marine Biology to Physiotherapy, Fine Art to Building Surveying, plus a number wishing to progress into Business Management, Economics and Engineering. Along with university places, Louis Mason has accepted a degree apprentice position at Microsoft. This comes after interviews and offers from several major companies, including IBM and Bentley, where Louis was subject to intensive applications processes which involved several rounds of testing and interviews. Louis has worked extremely hard throughout the whole process. Graham Felton has also obtained a degree apprenticeship in Quantity Surveying with Liverpool engineering firm, HE Simm. We offer our congratulations to both Louis and Graham. Of our aspiring medics, Luca Infante said of the application process and choosing Queen Mary University of London: “I approached virtual open days open minded but knowing I preferred courses with an integrated curriculum with early clinical experience. Barts open day was brilliant: complete and perfectly organised, with medical students’ participation, a virtual tour of the facilities and even a session on the 5th choice. I researched further and made it my first UCAS choice not because of rankings but core values: diversity, strong sense of community, medical specific societies and outreach activities and possibly one of the challenging catchment areas with its diverse and complex mix of ethnicities and health issues. Last but not least, London
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Futures Prog ramme We are very proud to see students who have found creative passions through study and co-curricular opportunities, such as Sonny Boardman who has been offered a place at LIPA to study Acting, and Ted Ford who will read Music Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music. Ted said, “I’ve enjoyed creating new melodies and harmonies on the piano for a long time, but for GCSE and then A-level Music I had to work on original compositions for the first time. I discovered a great fascination for musical composition. When I was looking at university options, I realised that my passion was for music, and I wanted to pursue this. After a lot of consideration and many conversations with my music teachers, I came to the conclusion that a course in composition at a conservatoire would suit my skills and interests better than a formal university music degree. The Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester is one of the best conservatoires in the country and is located in a great area for musicians, so applying there felt very natural. I’m very much looking forward to starting there in September.” Durham, currently ranked 7th in the UK University Rankings, is a popular choice for many, with three students having this university at the top of their list. Their subjects include to read History, English and Philosophy, and Engineering, which Head of School, Elizabeth Hyatt, has chosen as her future pathway. Elizabeth said, “In 2017 I had the most incredible experience on the Mission to Mars STEM trip to the Johnson Space Centre. By this time, I had a firm foundation in my love of all things science and engineering. This resulted from taking part in the weekly school Science Club experiments and led me to give a speech to an audience including Major Sir Tim Peake at the University of York about the School’s involvement in space sciences and astronomy. When I started to look at applying to university, general engineering was the obvious route. The collegiate system and small city of Durham, in proximity of other major cities, was the perfect fit, and I am very much looking forward to going there later this year. For me, the strong course reputation was a key factor, but also the wide range of sports and music opportunities the university offers is a very exciting prospect.”
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