Surrey Homes | SH59 | September 2019 | Education supplement inside

SH Education Supplement sponsored by
Beyond the Classroom
University, college or straight into a career? Reigate Grammar School
and ACS International Schools discuss what help is on hand when it
comes to making choices for life after secondary education
Matthew Buzzacott, Head of Careers at Reigate
Grammar School, explains what advice and help is
given to prepare students for life after school.
All teachers at Reigate Grammar School
have a role to play in the crucial task of
preparing our students for life outside the
classroom, and career aspirations underpin students’
progress throughout their time at the school.
Considerable assistance is given to our students making
their GCSE choices, and students in Years 8 and 9 receive
careers-related PSHE sessions to help them get an early
insight into possible future careers and how they can progress
towards them. A member of the Careers team is always
available for at least two hours per day to advise students on
a one-to-one basis.
Every member of Year 11 – along with their
parents – has a meeting with a senior member of staff
to discuss their individual progress, A-Level choices
and university/career options. For our Year 11 and
12 students, we offer Careers and Higher Education
‘profiling’, including interviews from external experts.
All students from Year 8 upwards are invited to our
lunchtime Careers Talks every three weeks, which feature
external speakers presenting a wide range of career areas.
Every Reigate Grammar School (RGS) student, as
well as those from local state schools, is also invited to
our three career-specific evenings per year, in which
we hear from a range of experts in their field. Last
year we had Law, Engineering and Digital Careers;
this year Accounting and Finance, Alternatives to
University, and Art and Design Careers. We also
invite all RGS and local state school students to our
Careers and Higher Education Conventions.
To assist students with post-18 choices, we have Careers/
UCAS lessons in the Sixth Form, which are supplemented
by the use of computer programs, such as Unifrog. We
also have a presentation and Q&A with an expert in
university admissions, and former students take questions
from Year 12 students about university or alternatives.
A dedicated member of staff advises on alternatives to
university, applications overseas and interview preparation,
and another specialises in Oxbridge applications.
In their final year, students study budgeting
and student finance, and this is supplemented
by lectures from an external expert speaker.
reigategrammar.org
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