SLGGS Careers Bulletin
18 September 2009
Read this bulletin ONLINE! Intranet: Online Curriculum > Careers Website: Students > Careers Dept >
Weekly Bulletin
Medical Courses for Students 15+ at UKC Next April
Local company Medicourses are holding their next medical course for students aged 15 - 19 at the University of Kent at Canterbury from 2pm on 16 April to 5pm on 18 April 2010. It’s ideal for anyone considering a career in medicine – students get the chance to meet medical students from a variety of medical schools and can learn first hand from a junior doctor what it’s really like to be a doctor. Students will also be able to practice medical skills in a series of practicals from suturing to patient examination. There will be lectures from consultants on a variety of specialities from sports injuries to cardiology. You can also get help with writing your personal statement and learn what is expected at interview. It’s a great opportunity to meet other students with similar aspirations and experience university life at first hand. The course costs £230 (£200 non-resident) with a £30 discount for any student paying in full before 1 January 2010. Lunch and refreshments are inclusive. Mock interviews can be arranged for an additional £30. Full details are available from Suzie Fox on 01227 730125, at www.medicourses.co.uk and from Mrs Shieber in the Connexions Library. Numbers attending the course will be strictly limited due to the large practical component.
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Volunteers Needed on 3 and 4 November at Canterbury Cathedral!
The Schools Officer at Canterbury Cathedral is looking for volunteer sixth formers to help with two Diocesan School Days on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 November between 9.30am and 12 noon. Please let Mrs Shieber know if you are interested.
December Courses on Offer from Workshop Conferences
Workshop Conferences are holding a series of courses for Year 12 and Year 13 students at the University of Nottingham this December. Provisional booking for the Medlink and Vet-Medlink courses must be made by 30 September 2009. The courses will run between 13 and 20 December. Many of the UK Medical Schools will be in attendance during the Medlink conference, offering young people and their parents an opportunity to meet informally with medical admissions tutors. Those with their focus on Oxbridge will be given an optional session which will include the opportunity to hear and talk with both Oxford and Cambridge Medical School experts. New elements in the Medlink 2009 programme include interactive surgery and an examination of Alzheimer’s. Vet-Medlink attendants will have the opportunity to perform research and to electronically publish a paper under the guidance of the team. Full details of the course content are available at www.medlinkuk.com or from Mrs Shieber in the Connexions Library. The 4-day course costs £235.75 Other 2-day courses on offer in December include Forensics CSI, Business & Management, Exploring Physiotherapy, Criminal Law, Exploring Physics and Exploring Chemistry. Provisional booking for these courses must be made by 30 October 2009.
Tips for Admission to Durham University
Durham says that each application received is very important to them and every one is read by academic staff from the department to which a student applies. In addition to academic achievement such as predicted grades and GCSE results, other factors also taken into consideration include the personal statement, success in non-curricular activities as well as how applicants perform in relation to other top students in their school. Guides explaining the admissions process for applicants are published on their website in the autumn. Scholarships for 34 students who can demonstrate national and/or international excellence in sport, music or the arts are available for 2010/11. Deadline for applications for the £2000 award is 18 November 2009. More scholarships and awards are available and details can be found online at
www.durham.ac.uk/studnent.finance
Chemical Engineering – it’s Worth Considering…
If you’re studying Chemistry and/or Maths but you missed the grades for your first choice of degree, perhaps Medicine or an allied discipline, then perhaps you should consider Chemical Engineering… The transferable skills chemical engineering graduates gain, including IT, problem solving, teamwork and process design, are in high demand across industry and commerce, and job prospects for chemical engineering graduates are excellent. The discipline crosses a huge variety of industries, from pharmaceuticals to food. Chemical Engineers also work for organisations currently solving environmental challenges such as providing clean water to the third world, climate change and alternative fuel sources. The average starting salary is £26,000 rising to average pay in the region of £47,500. There are opportunities to travel and to undertake a work placement in industry as part of the degree course. Explore this option further by visiting www.icheme.org and www.whynotchemeng.com or drop by to tell Mrs Shieber if you are interested – visiting speakers can be arranged!
Open Days
Royal Holloway, University of London – Sat 26 Sept, Sat 13 Mar & Weds 16 June Aston University, Weds 23 Sept Bath Spa Univeristy: Weds 23 Sept, Sat 17 Oct, Sat 24 Oct, Weds 2 Dec, University of East Anglia: Fri 3 Oct University of Liverpool: Sat 26 Sept University of West of England: Sat 10 Oct, Sat 21 Nov, Sat 6 Feb
SLGGS Careers Bulletin
Giving Gap
18 September 2009 Pure Potential – Advice Online
Register with www.purepotential.org to gain access to advice about personal statements, Kaplan Medics, student finance, revision tips, choosing your Uni course, Oxbridge, gap years, the UCAS form, Interviews, Admissions Tests and more! Pure Potential offer courses to students during the summer months, hosted by universities.
Giving Gap are offering 40% off South American volunteer programmes and 40% off working/teaching programmes. They o ffer a free coaching qualification when you book a sport programme (min 4 weeks) and will pay 100% towards your 1st degree coaching badge. Also on offer is a free return flight or 40% off our trips 4 weeks trips to Thailand if you book by the 15th September. And each individual who travels with Giving Gap will enter in a free draw to win a trip for two to South Africa world cup next June July 2010. More information from www.giving-gap.com or on 0808 2343645
Are You the Future of Performance?
Edge Hill University Performing Arts offers degree programmes in: Drama; Dance; Drama, Physical Theatre & Dance; Design for Visual Performance; Drama, Music & Sound; Performance & Health and a Foundation Degree in Theatre, Applied Drama & Creativity. Visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/performing arts for more information
New Publications in the Connexions Library
iCS: 5 copies of the University of Leicester’s newsletter about Computer Science (please see Mrs Shieber if you would like a copy) Hotcourses: Teachers’ guide to universities and colleges 2010/11 which students are welcome to read too! Includes listings and entry requirements of all universities and colleges. Diversity in Law: Magazine from The Independent with articles on the changing face of law, women in the profession, inhouse lawyers and legal aid amongst many others.
Compose / Design Your Future 09
Organised by UCAS, these two exhibitions offer a fantastic opportunity to help you get in touch with higher education institutions offering the programs you are interested in. Compose Your Future 09: performance arts, music, dance, drama, broadcast and multi-media production related courses and more. Visitors will have the opportunity to attend interactive, presentation workshops and live performances. It’s being held at Manchester Central Convention Complex on 13 October 2009. Visit www.ucasevents.com/compose for more information Design Your Future 09: to help you decide what and where to study within creative areas in a lively stimulating exhibition. It’s being held at London Excel on 17/18 November and at the Manchester Central Convention Complex on 30 November and 1 December 2009. Visit www.ucasevents.com/design for more information
How to Speak Uni Student Lingo…
Allow (that) this means "absolutely no way. Ever." Big up: to praise or congratulate someone. Cool beans: an exclamation of high regard, similar to "great!" but obscure Long: an adjective used to describe something as irritating, time-consuming or boring. Neek: a combination of nerd and geek to describe someone who is, well, exactly as every tutor wants their student to be. Obv: abbreviation for obvious. Owned: to be humiliated or embarrassed, usually after being shown up or exposed in some way. SDW: abbreviation for secret degree workers, most commonly used at posh universities to describe students who pretend to be getting "bladdered'" and avoiding work, but are quietly toiling away on the sly. Smacked it: to have done well at a particular activity. Teek: adjective for very old – older, even, than most students would estimate their tutor to be. Derives from "antique". Tell over: describes the actions of a tattle tail Wagwan: a greeting. Stands for "What's going on Waste: someone who acts in an idiosyncratic way. Woop woop: a noise made to denote happiness or congratulate someone.
And If You’re Thinking of a Career in TV and Broadcasting or Music Production….
Courses on offer at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication in London include BA (Hons) Sound Design; BA (Hons) Content Development and Production; BA (Hons) Scriptwriting as well as foundation degrees in Editing and Post Production; Broadcast Operations and Digital Film Production. They also offer Broadcast Engineering related courses – the only engineering course in the UK to offer a dynamic, creative, hands-on approach to Broadcast Engineering. Broadcast Engineers supervise transmission systems, the equipment in studios, and outside broadcasts. They configure, connect, programme and repair the specialist equipment required to make and broadcast TV programmes. They work on high profile events including the Olympics, Glastonbury, Formula 1 and many more TV projects. Ravensbourne also offer a Music Production Course which will be new in 2010 – it’s a programme for practicing musicians who want to create music for television and other broadcast media. Visit www.rave.ac.uk for more information about all the courses on offer.
Admissions Tests
Admissions Tests taking place in November include: BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT) Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) for Oxford From 2009, paper results will no longer be issued. Candidates and centres will be able to download their results using a new Results Online system. Visit www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk f or details
SLGGS Careers Bulletin
Alice Thomson, The Times, July 30 2009.
18 September 2009
―I am so sorry. Big Kiss. My love to you and the girls. Hold them close,‖ were Catherine Bailey’s last unbearable words to her husband, a kidney specialist. The successful City lawyer and mother of three daughters drowned herself in the Thames. Her work had increased significantly since the downturn with partners in her company working 60-hour weeks. The coroner concluded: ―She was a very capable and professional woman and mother of three . . . who found it hard to meet the demands of motherhood and the high standard she set herself.‖ Awful, horrendous, ghastly that she couldn’t see that she had already proved herself and realise that no one would judge her if she quit or changed career. The coroner, Alison Thompson, could have told her: she has been an air stewardess, nutrionist and barrister before her current career, showing that it’s an advantage to learn to be flexible. It’s not just the professions. When I gave a talk to a high school in the West Country, the girls were all far more focused about what they wanted to do than the boys. The boys had no idea. These girls didn’t need to be given ―nonstereotypical‖ advice, they needed to be shown how to combine being a breadwinner, role model and mother to their children. Careers advice shouldn’t be prescriptive or sexist but it does need to address the realities: four fifths of women still have children and most mothers won’t let fathers dominate the nurturing role. This doesn’t mean that schools should be teaching girls to cook and sew, but it does mean that Jessica might want to consider a different career path from Josh.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/c olumnists/guest_contributors/article673238 9.ece
Teach girls to be lawyers, doctors – and mothers
Yesterday the Women and Work Commission issued a report saying that the reason women were underachieving in the workplace was because they weren’t receiving enough aspirational career advice. Its chairperson, Baroness Prosser, insisted that girls must now be taught in a ―non-stereotypical way‖. Vivienne Brown, president of the Institute of Career Guidance, said it went ―against the grain ethically‖ to give different advice for those made of sugar and spice. The problem is that they are 30 years out of date. When I went back to my old school last week, prepared to give a stirring speech to the pupils about reaching their potential, I realised they had already exceeded anything I’ve ever done. They smiled politely while I reminisced about Portakabins and illicit trips to bounce on the new trampoline. But I soon discovered that many of these teenagers already had ten starred As at GCSE, their gold Duke of Edinburgh awards, had set up their own internet businesses, won medals for debating, were competing for Britain in sailing and had grade 8 distinction in oboe. As they staggered away with their booty, it was clear they were already thinking of becoming editors or economists, brain surgeons or barristers. So I had to edit the speech drastically; these girls realised they were as good if not better than the boys. They knew they could beat their male contemporaries to become the chief executive of BP or Marks & Spencer if they dedicated their life to that goal. What they hadn’t realised — and it seemed almost churlish to point out — is that while they are probably even more talented than their male contemporaries, their lives (and the commission will be horrified at the suggestion) will be different, more complicated but maybe also more complete. What I wish I had known at 18 was that while I could possibly become a chief executive I might also want to be a mother, that I might not want to work flat out, full-time for 40 years to reach the top, that woman + work is an easy equation to balance, but adding a baby into the sum turns it into a conundrum. I have female friends who have become neurologists, others have become clinical psychologists, illustrators (by far the best paid — two now have film contracts for their books), government advisers, publishers and engineers. But few now work full-time, most of them still have fascinating jobs, many changed careers when they had children, some started their own businesses, others went into the public sector for a pay cut but less demanding hours. None of them has managed to sustain a stressful, full-time career in the City and a young family; they didn’t want to, even with longer maternity leave. There are exceptions, Dame Marjorie Scardino, Dame Clara Furse and Nicola Horlick have all managed it but they are from an older generation who felt they had more to prove. According to Pricewaterhouse- Coopers, there has been a 40 per cent drop in women in senior management roles at FTSE 100 companies in the past five years. Women may return, but only when their children are older. The girls I talked to at my old school were perfectionists: you could see those with merits in flute determined that next time it would be distinction. Yet working mothers can’t reach perfect pitch in every area of their lives. The children’s toothpaste follows you into the meeting on your jacket; you find yourself taking an urgent call in the toilets when you are meant to be watching Ice Age 3 in the cinema with your five-year-old.