Lower School University and Careers Fair in Bristol

Last week was a first for our school because we took our lower school students to a university and careers fair. Normally this is the reserve of our IB and A Level students whose university applications are looming but we are placing greater emphasis on giving our younger students an earlier introduction to the university application process and we want  them to be inspired and informed at the start of their time with us.

The event was held at the Ashton Gate Football stadium in Bristol and present were some of the best universities in the country including the top five of Oxford, Cambridge, The London School of Economics and University College London. Also present were many Russel Group Universities including the University of Manchester and Liverpool.

This was not just about universities because some of the UK’s biggest companies also set out their stalls to attract young talent including Rolls Royce and JPMorgan Chase.

We arrived to find students from schools across the country all eager to have as look around and to have the chance to talk to admissions teams and prospective employees so armed with a venue guide our students set off to explore and to meet with admissions teams.

This wasn’t your average careers and University event with nothing but stalls it had some really interesting virtual stalls and a great virtual engineering stand where students could spray body parts from cars and Airplanes.

As well as this there was an extensive seminar program with talks about Oxbridge applications, student finance and career options. Students also had the chance to try out the latest in career finding computer software and it has come a long way in being able to match student’s aspirations with their abilities and current academic programs.

This was a great venue to hold event like this with views over the football pitch. It’s recently had a huge refurbishment with fantastic facilities. The students had great options for food as well with food stalls and a café in the stadium and many really enjoyed the chance to see the football pitch. What was so great was seeing so many international students mixing with British students from across the region all sharing the same aspirations and all eager to get stuck in.

This was a fantastic opportunity for our younger students to get a taste of what they can aim for in their immediate futures and will really give them the chance to see how the university process works and what employers are looking for.