Year 12 Xaverian students had the opportunity to think about their next steps at the College’s annual Pathways Day, which bring together employers and universities to inspire students to think about their futures and talk about what they have to offer in terms of university courses, careers and apprenticeships.
The event is now in its third year and aims to give students time off timetable to seriously consider their options in advance of making their UCAS applications later this year or considering alternative routes for them to follow. 70% of students progress to university from Xaverian and, of those, 74% gain a place at their first-choice university, so the fair is a timely opportunity to help them make decisions on what their next steps will be.
Among the exhibitors were Manchester universities: Manchester Metropolitan University, UA92, University of Manchester and University of Salford, and universities from further afield, including University of York, University of Hull, The University of Sheffield, Edge Hill University, University of Oxford, University of Glasgow and Newcastle University. Employers were on-hand to offer advice on career routes and apprenticeship opportunities and included, Bowmer and Kirkland, HMRC, Manchester Gallery, IPS, NHS, Tag Heuer and Wearelda.
Year 12 student, Lillie Arifsalih, progressed from Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College to study BTECs in Business and Music Technology and an A Level in Music at Xaverian, commented on the day by saying: “I went to the DBS Institute of Music talk and I learned what they did. What I found pretty cool was that their course includes music production and sound design, along with learning practical skills in music performance. I’m currently deciding on my future and I’d love to do an apprenticeship but I also want to follow my passion in the creative arts. The DBS Institute of Music talk has really inspired me, and I am going to talk to our College Careers Advisors to help me look into this further and decide which direction to take.”
Kimberley Griffiths is a senior contracts administrator for IPS looking after engineering, procurement, construction management and validation projects in the pharmaceutical industry and spoke to students about her career and change from owning and running three pubs to working for IPS in the legal department. Kimberly said: “I love business studies, and I actually had my own business for 20 years before I worked with IPS. I got to 2023, sold all my assets, had a year out, and then got a job where I could use my transferable skills in a completely different industry. The students were all really engaged and I hope they will have had something valuable to take away from it. The bar room taught me how to talk and the boardroom taught me how to trade, and my advice to students would be to not let anyone tell you that you can’t do both!”
Anna Lane who is studying A Levels in Biology, Geography and History at Xaverian attended the University of Bradford’s talk on allied health professionals. The talk was really interesting and the speaker gave us an insight into loads of different professions, including some that I hadn’t really thought of before, but now maybe I’ll look at. I really enjoyed the day. It’s useful to learn from the experience of others and gain insights into our options, especially with everything in one place.”
All students also attended UCAS advice sessions presented by the college’s pastoral team to get students ready to start writing their UCAS applications. Huw Peters, student marketing and recruitment officer from The University of Manchester, also spoke to students in the morning sessions about applying to competitive universities and courses and the tips and techniques students can use to help their applications and personal statements stand out. The university took part in the careers fair as part of the day and Huw commented: “We’ve come to Pathways Day quite a few times now, so I’m always happy to be back at Xaverian. We’ve enjoyed speaking with students and tried to give them an insight into going to university and answer their questions about Manchester and what kind of courses they can do.”
Jenny Ayres, Assistant Divisional Lead Pastoral, and joint organiser of the Pathways Day event, commented: “We are delighted with the event and the huge response from employers and universities wanting to take part this year, with over 50 workshops on offer to students in the morning and 80 exhibitors in the lunchtime careers fair. The event wouldn’t be the success it is without them and they give our students a unique day in which to explore their futures and get a flavour of the opportunities available to them. Being able to speak directly to organisations complements their weekly pastoral sessions where students are guided through their future options and the practicalities of taking the next steps.”