Careers education
An unrivalled preparation for university.
Careers education at Virtus
At Virtus, we are committed to providing comprehensive support to our A-Level students as they navigate the university application process. Career advisors and mentors, as well as teachers, are pivotal in assisting our students and guiding them through the different stages of their process, and providing impartial careers advice. Careers provision is therefore embedded in every aspect of Virtus; within the curriculum, the Mentoring Programme, PSHE and as a separate initiative with speakers, workshops and trips aligned with relevant career interests of students.
Virtus’ careers provision is designed to meet the British standard of the eight Gatsby Benchmarks.
How it meets British standards:
BM1 - A stable careers programme: see careers map.
BM2 - Learning from labour market information: regular assemblies will update students on various Post 18 options.
BM3 - Mentoring: assesses each need and opportunities are provided for students to explore a wide range.
BM4- Careers in the Curriculum: each subject has a careers link, a lesson and destination information.
BM5 - Encounters with employers/employees: visiting Speakers and trips meet this.
BM6 - Experience of workplaces: work experience is encouraged.
BM7 - Encounters with Higher Education: trip to IE, university fairs meet this.
BM8 - Personal guidance: each student meets with a Careers Advisor.
University support timeline
The university support process at Virtus begins in January for Year 12 students with the Preparatory Phase, and concludes in April for Year 13 students with Spanish university applications.
Here is an overview of the different processes and the associated timeline, in order to get perspective of the scope we implement.
1
Preparatory Phase
(January, Year 12)
2
University Shortlisting and Application Support
(March - May, Year 12)
3
Personal Statement Workshop and Application Preparation
(June - September, Year 12)
4
Year 13 - Continued Support (September-November)
5
Oxbridge and Medicine applicants (September - October, Year 13)
6
Spanish and Dutch Universities Phase (November - April, Year 13)
7
Application Submission and Finalising (January - April, Year 13)
Careers provision map
