Our ‘Beyond Bedford’ programme maximises the school’s ethos of integrity, responsibility, curiosity and endeavour by providing our boys with the self-awareness, confidence, breadth of experience, opportunities and networking skills to make informed and confident decisions about the options available to them and, ultimately, their future beyond school.
Outstanding Careers and UCAS provision at Bedford School is infused throughout the curricular and co-curricular life of the school, enabling all boys, throughout their school years: from 7 to 18, their university years and indeed their professional careers, to access exceptional, tailored, professional experience and advice.
‘Beyond Bedford’ is embedded into every strand of school life and encompasses the use of in-house expertise, networking through the Old Bedfordians Club with the support of current and past parents and over 50 clubs and societies in school to promote learning agility.
Bedford School boys must have the crucial skills and qualifications when faced with the dynamic, competitive Russell Group universities and apprenticeship routes, notwithstanding international pathways in the US and the EU.
Tracking the acquisition of the key employability skills is completed online via Unifrog, an integrated Careers platform, which enables pastoral and academic staff to maintain an overview of every boy’s involvement in school life and to ensure each boy maximises the wealth of opportunity available at every stage of his school career.
During the Remove Form, boys are able to build a profile encompassing any activities they have taken part in and competencies, ‘soft skills’ they are building, eventually leading to a CV. The Lower Sixth Form use Unifrog with additional features in order to research post-school options, for investigating apprenticeships, completing MOOCS and working on their personal statements for UCAS. In the Upper Sixth, boys work on their personal statements for UCAS, narrow down courses, and apply for degree-level apprenticeships.
We also engage with a number of key external organisations, including Morrisby, who offer an online career profiling service used to assist with individual interviews held with external qualified Careers Advisers, Cambridge Occupational Analysts, who assist with Centigrade psychometric testing in the Sixth Form, the Careers Development Institute (CDI), the National Citizen Service (NCS), who offer summer camp opportunities every year, and, of course, UCAS. Over the last couple of years, we have also worked with Globalbridge, a new and exciting 3D platform upon which Sixth Form boys can showcase their skills.
Careers Recognition
We are proud to hold both the ‘Career Mark’ quality award and the Onslow Trust ‘Gold Award for Education to Employment’. Both awards are testament to our ongoing ambition to support Bedford School boys for life.
Firefly Careers PageApprenticeships
Expert in-house Guidance
In-house expertise at Bedford School involves a core team of staff working in collaboration with the Director of Careers and Higher Education, Mrs Mel Lincoln. Appointments are made by email to careers@bedfordschool.org.uk. Working out of B10, near the Great Hall, the Careers team supports boys with all their ambitions, with access to the Careers Library and expert assistance.