EDUCATION EDITION
you enjoy, and secondly, how to open as many doors as possible that will allow you to employ the skills and knowledge that make you happy. For example, if history is your passion – pinning down written sources, evaluating evidence and using it to propose new interpretations – it may make you lean you towards law, journalism or policy work. Find out what day-to-day work in these areas entails. Still interested? Then what have successful people in these fields done to get there? People love talking about themselves, so email them or phone them up for advice. This should allow you to work back to suitable courses or apprenticeships – and from there figure out what qualifications would help you achieve those goals. “Sixth form is remarkably short: less than two years and you leave schooling behind,” Robin continues. “This means it’s entirely appropriate – in fact, downright advisable – to look at what comes next.” A FINE BALANCE Yet, your head can’t be entirely in the future. “Find the right balance between subjects that will lead to a chosen career and subjects that you will enjoy so much that your very best can be achieved,” advises head of sixth form at Stoke College, Jacob Dyer-Jones. “Speak to specialists in key areas whose judgement you trust, then assimilate your own thoughts within the context of these chosen career ideas and share them with parents, form tutors, trusted teachers or friends.” Perhaps the best thing about sixth form is the potential for students to carve out their own paths. The changed teaching methods employed as young adults arrive at this next stage often embrace this fact. “Sixth form is a time when students get to study subjects they both enjoy and are good at,” says Guy at The Perse. “It’s also a time of huge personal development, when students have more freedom and take on more responsibility.” STEPPING UP The Perse recognises that sixth form is a time of enormous change, giving students the option to take on great responsibility (above, left)
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