National School and College Leavers Show

All 81 of our Year 11 cohort headed to the National School and College Leavers Show at Ascot Race Course, to find out more about future careers, higher education, and apprenticeships. It was a valuable opportunity to visit individual stands and engage with representatives from a wide variety of sectors, exploring the array of options available.

The stands represented different companies, different employers and different universities, and the Students enjoyed navigating themselves around the stalls, depending on what they were interested in.

Livi, Year 11, explained “The show took place in the bandstand area of Ascot Racecourse. All the stalls were laid out across three rows, so it was all very accessible. It was a bit like a UCAS fair, so it was good preparation for when we look at universities.” She was also excited to discover a novel idea for a future gap year, “I spoke to a business that trains yacht stewardesses, and now I’d like to do the training and travel the world on a gap year working on a yacht.”

George, Year 11, added “I found the trip very interesting. Seeing different University options, as well as career paths was very useful in deciding my future after Leighton Park. In addition, it was fascinating to find out more about companies such as Urenco and Grundon.” Meanwhile, Oscar, also Year 11, enthused “I am pretty set on my future of becoming a commercial airline pilot. I had many questions, especially regarding whether I go straight into commercial flying from the get-go. The answers I got, have definitely helped me to decide which path I will go down in the future to achieve my goal.”

Assistant Head and Head of Careers, Sally Saunders, found that the NSCL Show had a great atmosphere and a positive impact on the Students, concluding that “It was as much about finding out what they’re interested in, as it was about finding out what they’re not interested in”.