Higher Education prepares students well for the world of employment. Which is one of the reasons that Rendcomb College prepares its students so well for university!

Last year, people in England with a university degree enjoyed a salary which averaged £10,000 more than non-graduates (according to DfE Graduate labour market statistics). Over 90% of graduates find employment or start further study courses within six months of completing their time at university (from HESA DLHE Survey 2016–17).

Are you passionate about your young person gaining a university degree? You will no doubt also be keen for them to benefit from the unique personal development opportunities that higher education offers. 

How can you be sure that your son or daughter is properly supported by their sixth form to apply for the right university; and to settle well once they get there? It’s a topic Rendcomb College takes very seriously.

Advice and help

With continuously available professional support, Rendcomb College ensures that those students who opt for university choose wisely. “Careers” and university insights are available all the time, not just during fixed appointments!

That includes around the clock help to invest in our students the abilities and skills that enrich their university applications.

There is plenty of time set aside to explore topics such as applying for student finance, and advice is available even beyond A-level results day.

Our caring staff ensures that students make decisions at their own pace, including considering locations and institutions that maximise their ability to thrive (and not just survive) during those crucial years.

This can even mean supporting them to successfully apply to Oxbridge, USA universities, or other aspirational locations. 

Why does this matter? 

University is not relevant to all sixth formers at Rendcomb College. That's why the team are happy to help our sixth form students to explore alternatives. 

Those who do go should be 100% confident in their choice.

The drop out rates for university tell a story. For example, 10.7% of those who take computing degrees (source: https://www.studentproblems.com/degrees-highest-dropout-rates/) leave their course uncompleted.

Rendcomb College offers well-thought-out and highly personalised support to ensure that sixth formers have the best chance of selecting a path that matches their personality, preferences and mental health, as well as their career ambitions.

Preparing students for life at University

For most of our former pupils, life after school involves living away from home. One of the greatest advantages of attending a residential school is that you develop the confidence and personal abilities to manage life at university in a natural and progressive way. Including knowing when (and who) to ask for help.

Rendcomb College “alumni” are often happy to share testimonies about the social skills and resourcefulness that were added bonuses of the caring community provided.

To add to this, Rendcomb College offers sixth form students the chance to learn such vital skills as shopping, cooking and cleaning ready for Uni life! Both residential and day pupils spend a couple of weeks being “self sufficient” in Garden House (our dedicated sixth form home).

What other activities prepare students for university?

One of the pivotal ways Rendcomb College helps sixth form students to get ready for Higher Education is in our packed “Moving On” Week.

This year, that included working as a team to create a peaceful outdoor living space at Paternoster House care home in Cirencester. The physical results of the community action project were stunning. The students also chatted with the residents, developing important interaction skills and ambitions to “make a difference” in the lives of others.

Moving On Week also included a streetwise workshop to learn personal safety techniques. In addition, Sixth Form students had a networking opportunity with local business leaders, and opportunities to chat freely with professionals across a wide range of key disciplines.

Building an understanding of the world beyond school is key to helping students find their place in that world.

The best preparation for progression from school

What is the single most important way to prepare young people for university – or whatever else awaits them when they leave education?

The answer is unequivocally to send them to the best school – on a residential or day basis. One that matches their individual academic abilities superbly and that offers holistic and effective care and development. That makes the answer Rendcomb College and its innovative sixth form centre.