Congratulations! Hope you were happy with your GCSE grades. You’re now studying the subjects that you have chosen in preparation for university, a degree/advanced apprenticeship and perhaps a gap year in between?

As well as studying hard there’s a lot of research to do over the next year to ensure you have all the information you need to make the right choices about after Year 13.

• Getting started
• Career ideas
• Planning ahead
• Useful websites

Getting started

Key actions for Years 12/13:

• Work hard!
• Maintain good attendance at school/college
• Revise for mock and yr 12 exams, they’re important and give you an idea of what you are likely to achieve at the end of Year 13. Your teachers will predict grades for your university reference!
• Think about which subjects you’re enjoying most and may want to carry on with at a higher level
• If you’re struggling with any subjects and/or workload talk to your teachers and get help
• Research university courses – see eCLIPS for leaflets about applying to university, ideas for higher university courses and taking a gap year and check out the other useful websites on our handy list.
• Also think about whether you want a campus or city university
• Be realistic with choices, don’t waste any by applying for courses that are way out of reach! Talk to your teachers!
• Book university visits for June, July or September.
• Begin prepping for you personal statement - there's a lot you need to cover and you may need time for research and work experience.
• Apply for apprenticeships if you’re not wanting to go to university. There are a lot of great opportunities to work, gain higher level qualifications and not have any student debt! Find out more about apprenticeships and other alternatives to university by checking out the websites on our useful websites list.

Career ideas

• Continue to research careers using useful websites and look at labour market information. This will tell you how competitive jobs are, where they are available and information about salaries
• Attending any events both in and out of school to have the opportunity to talk to those in jobs that interest you
• You may have the opportunity to undertake work experience and work shadowing may be essential for some degree course e.g. veterinary science. Check with universities as requirements can vary
• Have a question? You may be able to see your Careers Adviser in school or you can talk to a Careers Adviser via webchat
• Use the eCLIPS website - go to the Careers section which gives information on specific jobs
• Use the Career Wizard tool to match careers to your interests
• To get help identifying your current skills visit our transferable skills website
• Listen to real people in real jobs with our career chat podcasts
• If you are unsure about which career you would like to pursue use which career? site to help
• Try work experience in an area which interests you. This means actually trying a job for a week or so. Why not look at the virtual work experience opportunities on our see your future...be your future page
• Visit higher education site to see if it is the correct option for you
• Are you considering being your own boss? Do you have a unique business idea you would like to explore? See our self-employment and enterprise page.

Chat to an adviser   eCLIPS careers resource   Identify transferable skills 

Listen to our career chat podcasts  Explore which career?  Research higher education 

 Explore self-employment and enterprise  

                  

Planning ahead

You want to be as prepared as possible so it's important to plan ahead:

• Apply for university – if you plan to defer make sure you have your year out well planned. You may want to work to save some money, travel, undertake a project or a mix of these things
• Apply for Apprenticeships if you’re not wanting to go to university. You can learn more about this option by visiting our Apprenticeships and Traineeships page
• Visit universities of interest. Never accept an offer at a university that you haven’t visited
• You can apply for more than one option, you are not committing yourself and remember to ALWAYS HAVE A BACK-UP PLAN!

Decisions timeline:

Check the planner below for key activity dates. You don’t want to miss any!

 

Useful websites

We've compiled a list of useful websites to help you at each stage.

 

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