Oxbridge Alumni Inspire Year 10 Students

Last week, we were pleased to be able to offer our Year 10 students, on the Stretch & Challenge programme, an opportunity to take part in a Q&A session with our very own Oxbridge panel. The panel consisted of alumnus Siena Hickmore, who recently graduated from University of Oxford with a degree in History, alumnus Miguel Zeferino who left St Bart’s this summer to start his degree in Engineering with the University of Cambridge and Imogen Ciochon, who is a current St Bart’s Year 13 student and planning to study Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford.

This was a fantastic opportunity for our Year 10s to put their questions to Siena, Miguel and Imogen – students who, not so very long ago, sat where the Year 10s are now sitting and who have first-hand and recent experience of aspiring to, and ultimately successfully achieving, a place/offer for Oxbridge.

Questions included:
· What A Levels did they study?
· What they found hardest about the application process?
· How hopeful they had been about their application?
· What advice they would give their Year 10 self?
· Do you need to appear confident during an application?
· What is it important to include in your application and how do you make it stand out?
· How do you budget at university?
· How much independence do you have in Sixth Form and at University?
· And even, what houses they were/are in? – Siena (Curnock), Miguel (Davis), Imogen (Evers)!

Advice given by our panellists included finding a subject or area that truly interests you, so that you are prepared to work hard and explore beyond the curriculum. They also explained the importance of super-curricular activities, namely researching, engaging and reading around your chosen subject. They advised the students that you can always choose to change to your pathway at some point in your journey and that it isn’t about achieving straight 9s but about demonstrating your passion for your subject/s and how you think around ideas and challenges. We heard about Miguel’s drone that can now ‘almost’ fly after many failed attempts and about Imogen’s earlier life experience that sparked her desire to learn more about how brains work. Siena also spoke about life at Oxford and the independence you have in your study and daily life.

We hope the Year 10s who took part were inspired to start thinking about where their own interests could take them. We’d like to extend our grateful thanks to Siena, Miguel and Imogen for taking the time to engage with those following in their footsteps.

Alumni Talk: Careers in Technology

Our sincere thanks to Tom Moores (St Bart’s alumnus) who recently paid a visit to the school in order to meet with our Year 11 and Year 12 Computer Science students and advise them on careers in technology. Tom is in his third year of a BSc (Hons) Cyber Security and Forensic Computing at the University of Portsmouth and is completing a work placement at Ntegra, a specialist technology practice.

Tom spoke to our students about considering what they wanted to accomplish in the next five years. He spoke about the importance of researching the different post-18 options available to them, reflecting on what they enjoy and are good at, and about not being afraid to try new things, including work experience (paid or unpaid) in different fields. His presentation covered what soft skills employers are looking for in the technology sector, such as communication, collaboration, time management, critical thinking and adaptability. Finally, Tom gave students some tips on how to break into the industry by using networking tools and gaining new skills and certifications, as well as some ideas on job searching and building a top CV.

This was a valuable opportunity for our students. It is always fantastic to welcome back former students; their stories and advice are especially authentic and powerful. We know our students particularly appreciate hearing from those who have relatively recently sat in their seats, living the same experiences, and have now gone on to realise their ambitions – forging exciting careers. Thank you Tom, and we hope to welcome you back again soon.

If you are a former student who would be happy to support the school in this way, please do consider signing up to our alumni Future First platform and building your profile – this helps us connect with you.

 And speaking of alumni”¦

We very much enjoyed reading the recent BBC article about England Cricketer and St Bart’s alumnus, Lauren Bell, and her recent stratospheric trajectory into the women’s international game. Lauren reflects on her breakthrough year, playing for England and her desire to inspire the next generation, saying “There will be more little girls in those crowds thinking, I want to be England’s next fast bowler.” What a great role model for our students.

Alumni Awards for Film

On Monday 26 February, a select group of enthusiastic Year 12 Film students attended the 10th WJEC / Eduqas Moving Image Awards ceremony, held at the prestigious BFI Southbank, in support of two of last year’s alumni, who were shortlisted for their A Level Media coursework.  We were delighted that Callum Doddington (Warwick) and Harvey Miller (Bournemouth) won their categories, for Best Music Video and Best TV Sequence, respectively, and we followed up the ceremony by networking with prize-winners and judges at a post-awards reception!  Despite an adventurous train journey home, our students came away inspired – we look forward to entering our best work again this year!

The winning videos, along with all House Films, can be seen on the St Bart’s Media & Film Youtube account  Like, subscribe and share!

OBE for Alumni Lucy Ottley

We were so pleased to hear that former student, Lucy Ottley (neé Bell), has been awarded an OBE in the King’s 2024 New Year Honours List.

Lucy studied her A Levels (Human Biology, Sociology and Theatre Studies) at St Bart’s from 1994-96 and also spent two years as part of the Navy contingent in the Combined Cadet Force where she became one of the four Divisional Officers in the Section. It was this time which inspired her to follow a career into the Armed Forces.

Following her time at St. Barts, Lucy spent 23 years in the Royal Navy where she specialised as a Logistics Officer and achieved the rank of Commander. As well as serving on board numerous ships, she has served with the Royal Marines in Norway, Mine Clearance in the Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf and Land Operations in Afghanistan, Eastern Europe and the Far East.  She also led the Royal Navy Servicewomen’s Network for the last three years to improve the lived experiences of servicewomen and encourage others to achieve the best from their careers.

In addition, in July 2021 Lucy was invited to become a special advisor to the Secretary of State for Defence (then Ben Wallace MP) to bring about change to Tri-Service policies to address recommendations made in the Atherton Report, the House of Commons Defence Committee (HCDC) inquiry into the lived experiences of servicewomen published on 21 July 2021.

All recommendations, as well as a number of other initiatives, were successfully delivered over the proceeding two years. It was also during this time that Lucy led the project for the Royal Navy to collaborate across their Diversity Networks to raise the profile of some of the service’s best people and deliver an awards ceremony, which not only celebrated the diversity of the workforce, but brought the networks together to successfully achieve better support and conditions for all in the Royal Navy.

These projects were undertaken whilst remaining employed in a High Readiness Operation Headquarters with regular deployments abroad, which included Eastern Europe and Korea.

Speaking about her OBE, Lucy said: “I am delighted to have received my state honour in the King’s New Year Honours. It is important for everyone to thrive in their workplaces, so to be recognised for this work, which I undertook voluntarily in addition to my primary role, is a huge achievement for myself and I share with my former naval servicewomen’s network colleagues.”

Former Students Awards Success

We were absolutely delighted to hear this week that all four of our entries for the 2023 Eduqas Moving Image Awards have either been shortlisted or Highly Commended. This is the first time any of our students have been shortlisted for this prestigious national award, and we are looking forward to taking a party to join them at the ceremony, to be held at British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank in February 2024.

Harvey Miller (shortlisted) and Isaac Ayling (Highly Commended) have produced TV sequences, while Callum Doddington (Shortlisted) and Clara Allison (Highly Commended) have produced music videos, all of which are available to view here. All four, pictured here at the Key Stage 5 Awards Evening, have gone on to study Media or Film at Bournemouth, Warwick and the Northern Film School, and we fully expect them to have successful careers in the industry.

Year 11 Students Get ‘Real Life’ Interview Experience

Following the KS3 Careers Fair, the school also held our annual Year 11 Interview Day. The event offers Year 11 students a ‘real-life’ opportunity to practice their interview technique and etiquette with representatives from the world of work.

Prior to the day, students spent time in their PDP sessions, examining skills required for work, researching career choices, producing CVs and letters of application. On the day itself, each student benefitted from an individual mock interview and feedback on their performance from interviewers. The experience is designed to help prepare students for future pathways, whether this be Sixth Form, alternative further education, an apprenticeship or employment.

The event is supported by the Education and Business Partnership West Berkshire, who work in partnership with businesses to improve the employability skills of young people. More than 30 business volunteers gave their time generously and organisations involved included AWE, Barclays, Gardner Leader, Handelsbanken, Microsoft, OpenText, New College Swindon, Priors Count Foundation, RAL Space, Sky, Shoosmiths, Splunk Vodafone and West Berkshire Council. A huge thanks to all involved.

Alumni Support ‘Fascinating’ Careers Fair

 Last Thursday over 800 Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 students had the opportunity to explore over forty different job roles as part of our highly successful annual Key Stage 3 Careers Fair. Those organisations represented included, among others: Army, AWE, Bluecore Plumbing & Heating, Cyber Crowd, Fusion Group, Green Alliance, iB Architects, Newbury College, Newbury Corn Exchange, Priors Court School, Siemens, The Royal Berkshire Hospital, Thames Valley Police, Xtrac and Vodafone.

Mrs Seward, Head of Business & Economics and Careers Lead at St Bart’s, explained, “The Careers Fair is a key event in our wider Careers Education Programme. It is a fantastic opportunity for students to explore the huge range of career choices open to them. It allows them to ask employers in person any questions they may have about roles, the world of work or routes into careers. I am so grateful to all our visitors for giving their time so generously and for their wonderful encouragement of our students. It was great to have such a range of organisations represented and also that so many former students were involved in supporting the morning”.

The school liaised with the wider school community, including alumni, staff, parents, governors and local organisations to arrange for representatives from different career fields to support the initiative. The volunteers generously gave their time to chat to students, who explored the different stands and completed a specially designed booklet to record their conversations. Following the discussions, students then spent time in tutor sessions reviewing all they had learned and their experiences.

William (7P2) said, “I’m really interested in engineering and I was fascinated to see how something big like an aeroplane is made up of so many small parts. It was great to find out more.”

Faith Pitchford, HR Employee Experience Administrator at Siemens and one of the many St Bart’s alumni involved, commented “This was such an enjoyable experience and I was delighted to be involved. It is great to be back at my former school, chatting to students about their own aspirations and hopefully passing on some helpful advice and inspiration. I really look forward to coming back and supporting future career and enrichment opportunities – particularly around pathways into STEM careers.”

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