These are challenging times for sixth-form students. In addition
to working hard for A-Level examinations, they have many other
things to consider: changes to the tuition fee; the increased
number of university courses and the enormous variety of
information available not only in print but also on the internet.
Never before has choosing a course or a place of study been so
complicated.
At Bolton School there is a team of advisers who seek to guide
the students through every twist and turn of the journey to higher
education: helping them make informed decisions; raising their
expectations; taking them through each stage of the application
process.
Advice is available about applying for higher education not only
in UK institutions but also universities overseas. We have placed
boys in universities in the US (for example, Yale College recently)
and interest is steadily awakening (as elsewhere in the country) in
applying to universities elsewhere in the EC (for example,
Maastricht, currently an increasingly popular destination for
British students).
When the boys have completed their first term in the sixth form,
they are introduced to UCAS, the proceedure they must follow to
apply to UK universities. Thereafter they have the opportunity to
listen to a variety of guest speakers who give presentations about
specific or specialist features, such as student finance, applying
for medicine, dentistry or veterinary science or applying to the
colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. Boys who have interests in these
specialist fields require additional support (and they have to
develop greater expertise through work experience, volunteering,
wide reading and even original research). The Higher Education
Team, working closely with colleagues in the Careers service and
the Extended Project Coordinator, aim to provide a high level of
support to help the boys realise their ambitions. The team in its
broadest sense consists of the sixth form tutors, the heads of
Years 12 and 13 and the Head of Sixth Form. Responsibility for
providing the boys with guidance and directing the application
process rests with the Director of Higher Education Applications,
Dr. S. W. Holland SWH@boltonschool.org