Preparing for the Future
YOUR CHOSEN PATHWAY
Preparing for the Future
University preparation used to be relatively simple. The picture has become more complicated in recent years – but that is only because the nature and level of opportunity has increased so much.
We have a dedicated Head of Careers, Futures and Partnerships who is an expert on all the pathways available to our students. In addition, we have dedicated support for those students looking at US university options, where the requirements are so varied and specialised support is essential.
UK Universities
Our programme ensures all students are supported to make the best possible application to their preferred universities. Subject specialists advise on destinations and courses, and pastoral tutors ensure that personal statements and references are exceptional.
There are particular requirements for Oxbridge, medical and veterinary students, all of which are catered for. Those looking at these destinations or courses have specialist support and guidance to give them the best chance to shine and demonstrate their full potential.
US Universities
East Coast or West Coast? Liberal Arts? Technology courses? Ivy League? An increasing number of UK students are recognising the unique opportunities that US courses afford (and sometimes landing instead on Scottish options, which can be surprisingly similar!).
We have a dedicated support channel for US universities with contemporary and up to date expertise on the differing requirements. Thomas’s College has very strong connections with institutions and admissions tutors across our Leadership Team – these relationships matter in the US system to ensure our curriculum is understood and embraced by US admissions teams.
Universities Across the World
More and more, students are looking further afield to Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, and institutions across Europe and Asia for their tertiary studies. Thomas’s College can provide guidance and support for all of them.
Degree Apprenticeships
These are an increasingly popular option, with work-to-study and study-to-work variants. The former sees work and pay rise quickly with degree learning spread out over several years. The latter allows students to qualify more quickly before focusing only on employment and opportunity.
Some world-leading employers are taking more and more of their intake from the age of 18, providing study and guidance, so that they graduate into employment, with no debt, ready to push on with their working lives.
Creative and Performing Arts Courses
The UK remains a world leader in the creative industries and students are always encouraged to consider either foundation creative courses, or drama or music schools if that is where their interest lies. They are given full support with the specialist application requirements.
Entrepreneurship and Business
Some students are simply ready to get making and doing! Our unique curriculum allows them to place entrepreneurial activity at the heart of their curriculum.
As the world changes, and challenges mount, so opportunity widens. We are fully equipped to support students to find modern and less conventional pathways after secondary school that lead directly into their chosen career, passions and interests.
The Thomas’s Foundation Course
We are in the process of developing the Thomas’s Foundation Course. Think of it as a combination of Gap Year and MBA. During the school holidays, we’ll offer taught skills and courses achieving, a much higher level of cultural and professional knowledge than can be achieved at school. During term time students will be supported in arranging engaging learning opportunities, including internships and work experience.
Graduates from our Foundation Course will be several steps ahead of their peers, whether they go onto university, degree apprenticeship or entrepreneurship.
Self-Understanding
Many entrepreneurs and creators were famously “bad at school”. Our curriculum teaches self-understanding. We passionately believe that all success in life is based on a recognition of how each of us thinks and learns: on unlocking our own aptitudes and strengths. We strive to create the same diversity of excellence within our school that characterises the best and most vibrant workplaces.
Our focus on personal choice and self-understanding means that our curriculum, above all, champions human creativity. Over decades, automation has transformed the world of labour. Via machine learning and artificial intelligence it is about to have the same effect on ‘process’-based intelligence. Employers are already looking for individual spark and insight, and that will only become more apparent in our ever-changing future. The Thomas’s College Sixth Form curriculum prioritises future preparation, encouraging different types of intelligence, sharpness, wit, and the ability to make connections, allowing them to succeed in tomorrow’s world.
