The Futures Programme at Ardingly provides comprehensive, bespoke and expert advice to guide our Sixth Form students through the university application process. Here are some of the key elements and tools that we have in place to help our students navigate through the various pathways and find the right next step for them.
“I really appreciated all the expert help and advice I received from the Sixth Form team to guide my university applications. And I was delighted to get offers from all my top choices!”
Alex, Sixth Form student
Unifrog
Unifrog is a powerful online platform that helps students explore a wide range of university and career options. Through Unifrog, all Ardingly students have access to valuable resources and tools that assist them in making informed decisions about their future academic pathways.
Personal Statement Assistance
Personal statement drafting is a crucial aspect of successful university applications and our Futures Programme provides dedicated support to help students craft compelling and distinctive personal statements that highlight their strengths, achievements and aspirations.
Oxbridge Programme
Over the past few years we have experienced significant success supporting students to achieve Oxbridge offers. For those students applying to study at Oxford and Cambridge, we provide additional support both within the specific subject departments and also centrally from the Sixth Form team. In conjunction with our academic extension programme, we meet weekly with those students applying to Oxbridge to encourage independent subject research, discuss College choices and prepare them for the interview and entrance exams. We also connect our applicants with successful recent Old Ardinians (OAs) who are currently studying at Oxford and Cambridge, so they can advise on how they approached the application process and the interview.
Overseas University Co-ordinator
Every year around a third of our students choose to study overseas at some of the most prestigious American and European universities. Our Overseas University Coordinator has a great deal of experience in guiding students and offering specialist support to those exploring overseas universities. This includes guidance on application requirements and scholarship options at both US and European institutions. We also connect our applicants to recent Old Ardinians who are studying at their choice of overseas university.
University Speed Dating
This involves last year’s leaving Upper Sixth students coming back to Ardingly and being visited by a series of small groups of current Lower Sixth students who can ask quick fire questions about all the OAs’ universities and courses. This gives students the opportunities to ask all kinds of questions that are important to them but not to be found on the university’s website or discussed at an Open Day! We also run panel sessions for OAs to reflect on ‘what went well’ ‘what could have gone better’ about their university experience, which enables our current students to learn from the experience of their recent predecessors.
