After Cranleigh

AFTER CRANLEIGH: HIGHER EDUCATION AND CAREERS

For the last ten years or so, about 98% of Cranleighans have chosen to go on to Higher Education. Between 75 and 80% each year go on to the older universities, and the rest to the former polytechnics or colleges of art, most of which are now affiliated to universities.

Our most academic pupils get into Oxbridge, Bristol, Durham, Nottingham, LSE, Imperial and UCL, but plenty of high fliers choose other universities, too, especially the 1960s technological universities like Bath, Warwick, York, Loughborough and Sussex. A large number aim for the big northern civics, especially Newcastle and Leeds, and Exeter is always popular. A handful opts for Cardiff, Edinburgh and Southampton each year, but fewer go to Birmingham, Liverpool or Manchester. Of the new universities, Oxford Brookes is by far the most popular, followed by UWE Bristol.

Over this same period, the Business, Management and Economics subject area has attracted the most students. Some niche business courses, such as Property Management or Marketing have been popular, and more of our linguists opt for courses combining their languages with business than purely cultural degrees. For the rest, Cranleighans choose from the complete range of traditional degree courses, although quite a high number opt for Joint or Combined Honours programmes, perhaps reflecting a wish to offer a broader base to future employers. Examples of more exotic courses chosen by individuals over the last few years include Digital Music, Chinese & Spanish, Boat Design, Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, Fashion Marketing, Internet Engineering, German & Czech, Oceanography and Human Resource Management. Between 85 and 90% get into their first choice university, and about 40 - 50% take a gap year before going up to university.

Very few Cranleighans have chosen their career when they arrive at the age of 13, and to a certain extent, career choice is channelled by subject specialism in the Sixth Form and then degree choice. There is a focus on careers in the Upper Fifth and Lower Sixth Forms, when pupils are given the opportunity to complete psychometric tests run by ISCO, the Independent Schools Careers Organisation. They also attend two careers evenings and undertake a week of work experience during the post-GCSE exam period at the end of the Upper Fifth. It is fair to say that the more work experience a student does, the more likely it will be that he or she will choose his or her Sixth Form subjects and university courses wisely.