At Bushey Meads we are proud to support our Sixth Form students with their next steps. There are numerous options available, all of which will support our students in making informed decisions and preparing appropriately for their future endeavours.
As members of Bushey Meads Sixth Form, students and Parents and Carers have free and unfiltered access to the next steps platform of Unifrog.
Unifrog is an online platform offering a one-stop-shop for all things University and Apprenticeships; bringing together all the available information into one single, impartial, user-friendly platform that helps students to make the best choices, and submit the strongest applications.
We encourage Parents and Carers to refer to the ‘Next Steps’ presentation for further information regarding personalised log-in details.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, commonly known as UCAS is the United Kingdom’s application portal for all Universities and Conservatoires. Each year UCAS offers students the opportunity to filter and apply for Undergraduate courses across the entire UK. UCAS opens for applications near the beginning of Year 13 and closes for Undergraduate courses in January of the same academic year. Conservatoires have separate application deadline dates that would require careful monitoring.
When applying through UCAS students will select up to five separate courses and will complete an application form that includes a personal statement and school based reference. The Character Development Coaches will work with subject teachers to initially write these references and collate the UCAS predicted grades required for any application. The Head and Deputy Head of Sixth Form will oversee this process and finalise all student applications and school based references.
It is ideal to have all applications completed before the Christmas holidays in Year 13. Students will subsequently be in communication with UCAS via a portal called UCAS Track where they will be able to monitor the progress of their application. It is important to note that applications for Oxbridge, medicine or veterinary care must be made in October of Year 13.
For more information on UCAS please follow the link below and see the information from the Next Steps event.
During the Autumn term the Careers team, launch the Year 12 work shadowing week.
Throughout Bushey Meads School, Work-Related Learning is an essential part of the curriculum, giving students the grounding in skills that employers value. We are going through challenging times globally and our students need to be prepared, especially where self-marketing skills are essential in any application for university or work-based learning. It is for these reasons that we give our Year 12 students the opportunity to find out more about the world of work by organising their own work placement. This is primarily an experience of the workplace, if possible related to their chosen career or university course. This will take place at the end of the summer term.
Click below to see articles of work experience from previous years.
At Bushey Meads we are aware that many Universities and jobs require interviews. We are proud to offer practise interviews with established business partners and also offer dedicated support through enrichment activites for University interviews.
We look forward to returning to our full interview timetable once again this year.
Certain Universities and some subjects have additional requirements as part of their admissions process.
It is becoming increasingly common for maths, science and law based degrees to ask for additional assessments to be sat by any student applying for these courses. In support of our students next steps we provide in-school support and access to specialist teacher guidance for many of these assessments.
As the application requirements differ for each subject it is vital that students are fully aware of the specific details for each course they are applying for via UCAS.
We will endeavour to support all additional application requirements however this is dependant upon the student requesting such assistance. We are proud to currently provide a Medical Society which supports students who are considering applying for medicine, veterinarian care, dentistry and psychology. Additionally, our maths and social science faculties have regularly supported students applying for connected undergraduate study.
If you have any questions regarding University entrance requirements, or the support offered at Bushey Meads please contact a member of the Sixth Form team.
Many Universities now employ the use of interviews as part of their admissions process. We are acutely aware that an interview can be a stressful experience and one that students must carefully prepare for. As part of our enrichment programme we offer students access to mock interviews with established business partners; this encourages the students to develop professional communication and practise valuable skills. The Sixth Form team and the wider teaching body are available to provide support for students in preparing for their University admissions interviews.