Supporting Year 13 into HE – a CPD session with James Rew from Leeds College of Music

Despite the lockdown, James Rew from Leeds College of Music ploughed through and went ahead with planned training for the current Year 12 tutors and NQTs at Immanuel College. He moved his input online and delivered an interactive session on student finance, writing UCAS references and personal statements. The training covered a refresher on the basics of student finance along with some pointers on what to include and avoid when writing personal statements and references. He also shared websites that he recommended, for instance resources prepared by Advancing Access and Whatuni.com.

Before the training session the respondents said…

After the training the Year 12 tutors reflected on what they had learnt. Some of their comments included:

“I learnt how important the personal statements are and how careful thought needs to put into these.”

“[best suppport Immanuel students by helping to] make choices more clear for students.”

“Giving them as much information as I can and supporting them fully in their applications.”

When asked what they think are the main barriers to students gaining a place at a HE institution of their choice, one tutor said, “Getting students to have self-belief and broadening their horizons. A lot of our students have had little or narrow life experiences.”

According to participants, some of the most useful parts of the session were “the ‘do not use this sentence starter’ part,” and the “personal statements section. This is a vital part of their application so it was good to have some information about this.”

After the training feedback:

Joanne Welding, Higher Education Progression Officer at Immanuel College