Return to previous page Latest Academic news Latest Careers News Futures & Higher Education Bulleti

Thank you for reading the first bulletin of the Summer Term 2021.1 hope you enjoyed a relaxing break and it is wonderful to see the site back and buzzing with activity again.  For this edition a diverse mixture of opportunities to consider.

Ideas and Aspirations (Lower 6‘)

| remember the moment vividly in the summer term of my Lower 6" when our Head of Careers reminded us we had around six months to decide which courses we wanted to apply for at university if we were going to meet the school deadline. | was more excited about Euro 96 at that point, so it was something of a wake-up call. Well, in unsurprising news, you are in a similar situation, timescale wise. If you are planning to apply to university for a 2022 start, the school internal deadline is Wednesday 3" November 2021. If you are intending to apply to Oxbridge or Medicine, Veterinary Science or Dentistry, it is Friday |** October 2021. It is really not that far away to make what | would suggest is the most exciting educational decision you can undertake.

With this in mind, we have a UCAS day planned for later in the summer term, but there are plenty of things you can
be doing in the meantime.

For example, there are various ‘UCAS Discovery Days’, we can arrange for you to speak to one of our OS University Reps about their experiences and we can sit down with you and go through your ideas in person. We are here to help, please do make contact if you would like to talk through your plans and aspirations.

In a previous bulletin | shared research from the ‘Future of Jobs’ report, which detailed the skills that would be in most demand in 2025. With this research considered, over the coming four weeks you are requested to attend presentations on these topics during P5 on a Friday. We are commencing with a presentation on ‘Effective Leadership’ from one of our highly decorated former pupils, a topic which is always one to promote debate and discussion! The Zoom link will be distributed via email the day before.

Virtual Work Experience (All year groups)

Springpod have announced a series of interesting looking virtual work experience opportunities, all taking place during the half term break on Tuesday I* June 2021. Having scanned through, they all seem free of charge and there really is an excellent selection there, including fashion, graphic design, psychology, politics and Film & TY. Well worth a look.

Additionally, the following site provides links to a range of virtual activities, some of which are more company specific. These include global organisations such as:

• PwC
• Barclays
• JP Morgan.

If you have not completed any type of work experience, these are useful activities to consider during a time when face to face opportunities are harder to locate.

Curriculum Vitae (5° Form & 6"* Form)

On the topic of work experience, you may well be asked to submit a Curriculum Vitae (CY) to apply for one of these positions and they are an excellent way of showcasing your abilities if you are targeting placements with specific companies. If as a fifth former and older you have not got an up-to-date CV, now is the time to get this resolved. We have some excellent resources on this firefly page and if you are concerned that your CY is currently quite ‘light’, | would suggest it is time to think about how you could change this positively over the coming weeks. | am more than happy to offer some guidance and support on CV compilation, please just make contact.

Mobile Working (All year groups)

A few articles have caught my eye during the past few weeks regarding the topic of mobile and flexible working.

| think it is reasonable to suggest that the pandemic has accelerated a number of anticipated changes, with across the globe, organisations having to adjust to individuals working outside of their typical office environments.

This article references some interesting research on the impact on this and presents some concerns about the results of working away from a traditional office base.

In the interest of balance, this article details how virtual reality technology is making the challenges of virtual working easier to navigate. The final sentence of the piece struck a chord with me; ‘the possibilities are endless’.

Keep well and best wishes,

Mr Wain