Pure Potential

PP: School Leavers Event

With the rise in tuition fees and the changes in higher education, many students are looking at alternatives to university. For the past two years, Pure Potential has organised an event specifically for students who were interested in bypassing university and going straight into the world of work after their sixth form studies. 

Our 2014 event date and venue will be announced in the Autumn term - please register your interest clicking here.

Students who attended this event in the past had the opportunity to:

• Learn about the benefits of school leaver programmes
• Practise interview skills
• Write an outstanding CV and covering letter
• Excel at competency questions
• Meet firms which offer school leaver opportunities
  

Industry Workshops

Students also had the chance to attend an hour-long interactive workshops delivered by our partner firms in a range of industries. The following firms took part in the 2013 event: AAT, ACCA, Capgemini, Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton, ICAEW, KPMG, Laing O'Rourke, Marks & Spencer and Transport for London. Students chose one of these sectors and attended an interactive workshop which informed them about their industry, what their school leaver programme involved, their entry requirements, the financial benefits and the qualifications they could gain.

Eligibility

In order to apply for the event, students must have:

• Been predicted a minimum of 280 UCAS points
• Been interested in hearing about school leaver programmes in accountancy, financial services, construction engineering, IT consulting, retail and Transport for London

How to book

Bookings for our 2014 will open in the Autumn term once the date and venue have been announced. Please register your interest by clicking here.

If you have any questions about the event then please contact Binda on 0207 122 1223. 

Event Feedback

Here is some of the feedback from our events:

• 100% of students would recommend this event to other students
• 100% felt it would be an extremely useful event to run again for future students
• 89% of students who attended the event felt better-informed about school leaver programmes
• 87% felt this event raised the profile of school leaver programmes
• 92% of students benefited from meeting representatives from leading firms
  

1. “Such a useful day, more students need to be aware of the alternatives to university.”
2. “I found the event very useful and made me feel much more confident about my choice of not attending university.”
3. “Very grateful to you for organising this event. Many thanks to everyone who helped make it happen.”
4. “The programme definitely benefited me and corrected any misconceptions I had about school leaver programmes.”

Case Study

We met Stephanie at our 2012 PP: School Leavers event. She has gone on to achieve great things including securing a place on a school leaver programme at a leading financial firm - read her story below.

During Sixth Form I began thinking of what I wanted to do next; compulsory education was over and it was time for me to begin to make my own decisions. University seemed like the natural pathway since the majority of people my age seemed to be applying and my older siblings were both already studying for a degree. My Sixth Form had also been giving us information and advice about university so when UCAS applications opened I applied to a number of top universities to study Economics.

I greatly enjoy Economics as a subject and was excited about the prospect of studying it further. However I remained unsure about if university was the right thing for me. I spent a considerable amount of time exploring a number of alternatives to university, especially in light of the increase in tuition fees, and I was particularly struck by School Leaver Programmes. I discovered the programmes are offered in a range of subjects across a number of leading firms and are becoming ever more popular.

Reading more about the possible programmes I was excited by the prospect of gaining ‘hands on experience’ in a supportive environment, which would be well recognised in the evermore competitive job market. I was mainly interested in positions involving banking, tax, statistics... as this would give me a chance to further my economic knowledge by learning from the real economy. Going straight into work would give independence, the chance to study for professional qualifications and I would be earning rather than accumulating student debt!

I decided to apply for a position and whilst working through the different application stages I heard about Pure Potential events through my Careers Advisors at Sixth Form. I attended a day run by Pure Potential which was specifically for Sixth Formers where I learnt more about the different School Leavers programmes available and meet other people in a similar situation to myself. The best thing about the day in my opinion was the opportunity to network with representatives from companies such as Ernst & Young, BDO, Santander... and ask questions about the opportunities they have available. The day also consisted of sessions focusing on how to approach the different stages of the application processes (application forms, competency questions, interviews...) and talks on writing CV’s and cover letters. The tips I received from these seminars gave me the confidence and determination to carry on submitting applications and to strive to perform to the best of my ability in every step faced while applying.

In September 2012 I began working at a leading financial firm after being successful in applying to their school leaver programme. I am greatly enjoying the role and am excited about all it entails over the coming years. I am now glad I decided against university and I am grateful to Pure Potential for the guidance they gave me which helped me to where I am today.