For ambitious 6^th Form pupils at King’s, the summer holidays were an excellent time to be able to further explorations in future career and university possibilities. The below is a sample of the many activities undertaken.

As part of her investigation into a future legal career, Megan attended a valuable InvestIn Law event, meeting with current barristers and solicitors in London and hearing how they progressed through to their current posts. Megan reported: “During the summer holidays, I took part in the Young Lawyer Programme which was held at University College London. I had been thinking about a career in Law and wanted to check that I was still determined to have one. The day consisted of around ten lawyers from all different areas of law, such as criminal and commercial discussing what they do and their individual journeys into Law. I learnt more about the responsibilities of barristers and solicitors and the differences between their roles. At the end of each seminar there was a case study section where we analysed and evaluated an opposing and proposing argument, for me this was definitely one of the highlights. I would recommend the programme to all other pupils at King’s, it certainly clarified and increased my desire to study Law at university.”

Many pupils travelled further afield for their experience and summer activities. Eric worked with Projects Abroad in Nepal, assisting with earthquake reconstruction work. He described this as: “an extremely valuable experience” where he contributed to the needs of others facing tough situations.  Eric then gained an insight into a very different economic and social environment as he travelled to Singapore to experience work in a bank with OCBC.

Megan completed her Duke of Edinburgh residential at Local Ocean Trust Turtle Watch in a small village on the coast of Kenya, called Watamu. Over the course of five days she helped with turtle catch and release, rehabilitation, anti-poaching surveys, mangrove planting and data entry. She reports that “I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and most of all got to contribute and understand how each little step helps in preserving our natural world”.

The USA saw visits from several King’s pupils who have their sights set on the opportunities offered by universities in the country. Emily tells of her experience: “Over the summer, I travelled to Duke University, North Carolina, to participate in a hockey camp for 3 days. Having had a few days to explore Durham (an old, industrial tobacco making town), where Duke is situated, I arrived at the camp ready to experience a bit of American college life. I stayed in the halls of residence close to the pitch. Thus, every day warm-up started at 8:30am followed by plenty of training interspersed with breaks for lunch and dinner - hockey was finally over at 9:30pm. Over the three days, all the campers split into four country teams and competed in a tournament, playing matches under the floodlights in the evening, grateful for the cooler temperature. A highlight of the camp for me was scoring the winning goal in the shootout for bronze for Team USA! Although it was very hot and humid (reaching 32 degrees Celsius daily), the camp was really enjoyable and gave me a fantastic insight into life as a student-athlete in America.”

Henry spent some of his summer exploring USA universities, to which he hopes to apply. Amongst these was the University of Connecticut, the home of the Huskies.

Another who enjoyed time in the USA this summer, was Kitty, who gained a place on the prestigious Yale Young Global Scholars Programme. She spent a fortnight with over 100 other nationalities on a program specialising in International Affairs and Security. You can read more about this venture here.

Other pupils incorporated exploratory university courses into their summer holidays. Myles’ summer included attending product and prototype design university taster courses, as well as gaining valuable employment skills whilst working at Wells Joinery.

Many pupils looked to enhance their personal skillset ahead of future university and employment options. Seb, for example, worked on learning a new computer programming language.

Meanwhile, Robert was thrown into the deep-end working for a construction company dealing with employment contracts, whilst also finding time to explore his passion for musical performance in a music studio.

Meanwhile, Ollie was busy putting his BTEC Hospitality training into practice working at Devon Hotel. Ollie experienced work in a range of roles, from management to banking, customer experience, bar and restaurant work. Added to this, Ollie enjoyed the world of business during two weeks’ experience at Paragon, gaining valuable direction for his future paths.

Similarly, Jamie gained significant experience in the hospitality industry, working in a variety of contexts, including management responsibility with Hunter’s Moon. Hermione, gained a valuable two weeks of Interior Textile Design work experience with GP and J Baker Designs, Chelsea, London.  Meanwhile Sophie also enjoyed some an intriguing fortnight of work experience with Dyson in the Sales, HR, Marketing and PR departments.

Amongst many cricket matches, Holly managed to find time to deepen her understanding in the sciences with a week spent on a Biology Field Studies Council residential in the South West.

The Sixth Form have certainly been busy. Challenged to be ambitious with their time, they have set an example for the years that follow and provided plenty of inspiration for the new L6^th Form. What will they be able to write about this time next year?

Will Daws - Head of Sixth Form