Sixth Form Newsletter 19th March 2018 Head of Sixth Form’s Welcome This week we hosted the very first INA Careers Fair. Students were able to hear from speakers from a wide range of careers and practise their networking skills. A huge thank you to all of our guests and Ms Beled for organising such a fantastic event. On Thursday we are hosting a Student Finance talk for students, parents and carers with guest speakers from the University of Hertfordshire. We look forward to seeing you all there! This week we will be emailing all parents a link to our parent questionnaire. This is in a survey monkey format and should Key Dates be quite quick and simple to complete online. Please could I ask that parents complete one per parent (not one per child). If, however, you have a child 22nd March - Finance Information Evening in the secondary and child in the primary, please do complete one of each (6pm-7pm) as the two questionnaires are different in places. We very much appreciate rd you taking the time to give us feedback; it is invaluable to us in ensuring 23 March - Year 12 Geography Field Trip that we keep abreast of your views and experiences and respond to your 26th March - Year 7 Progress Meetings reflections on what we could do better. If you have any problems accessing (school finishes at 1:15pm for Year 12 students) the questionnaire, or require a printed version, please contact Sam Jones via [email protected]. Surveys are to be completed 29th March - End of Term by Monday 26th March 2018. 16th April - Summer Term Begins 18th April - UCAS With best wishes, Sugra Alibhai Vice Principal and Head of Sixth Form Redbridge Evolving Youth Leadership Project Written by Amir, Year 12 For the past six months, I was privileged to be part of the Redbridge Evolving Youth leadership project. To be involved in this programme, I had to submit an application and undertake an interview. The aim of the project is to teach life skills and to contribute to the community through volunteering. We met weekly and had lectures and debates on the current issues relevant to today’s society such as the rise of terrorist groups and the development of political parties in the UK. During the February Half-term, I attended a three-day residential at Warwick University. We had the opportunity to listen to guest speakers and participate in debates on subjects such and politics, terrorism, law, and history. Sports activities were also available and on one night we had a formal dinner. To conclude the programme, we had a presentation evening on the 8th March at City Hall in London. It was a great event where we listened to our project leaders talk about the enthusiasm and commitment shown on the programmes. Finally, Keith Prince, London Assembly member in City Hall, presented us with our certificates. Overall this programme was a fantastic opportunity to meet new friends, gain independence by going to Warwick for 3 days, and also knowledge on community outreach. I will continue to look out for opportunities to serve Redbridge and am now on a register to be informed of potential activities: I look forward to using what I have learnt to the benefit of my community in the future. Finance Information Evening 22nd March 2018 6pm-7pm On Thursday 22nd March, INA will be hosting a Finance Information Evening for all Year 12 Parents. The meeting aims to inform parents of financial processes that will affect students as they progress into Higher Education. The Univeristy of Hertfordshire will be attending the evening as our guest speaker. As well as talking about specific opportunities relevant to the university, they will be address some of the following topics: • Tuition loans and Maintenance loans and when these are received • When to start applying for the loans • Deadlines to apply for the loans • Examples of amounts students can receive • Examples of what students pay back once in work • Bursaries and scholarships at University of Hertfordshire • Websites to visit and apply through My Education Journey... Q&A with Ms Chamberlain, Finance & Resources Director Q: Which A levels did you study and why? A: I didn’t do A levels– I did a BTEC National Diploma in Business Studies at College. When I was at school I didn’t really know what I wanted to do but it was appealing to do something vocational at that point in my life. Q: So after college, what did you do? A: I got a job with the local authority and went on to a day release course to complete a BTEC Higher National Certificate in Public Administration. That took two years. Soon after that, I decided to do an Open University Professional Certificate in Management, which took about a year – working full-time throughout. Overall, I worked for different Local Authorities for about 15 years, and I have now been in schools for about 15 years. Q: How did that move into schools come about? A: From early on, I worked in the education sector with the Local Authorities – liaising a lot with schools, so I thought it might be nice to move into a school environment. I became one of the first School Business Managers in Waltham Forest. Soon after I started, the Government launched the new School Business Management qualifications and they funded the studies for this. So, first I did a Certificate in School Business Management and I went on to do the Diploma after that. Later, the opportunity came up to do a degree in School Business Management at Manchester Metropolitan which I then completed (with 1st class honours) in 2010. Q: Was it strange being a student when you were older and had a child to look after? A: No, because most of the people I was studying with were also mature students, and had been working in school business for a while. Q: Could you still get involved in the social side of university life? A: We had a satellite cohort that met in Northampton. We had residentials there – with lectures say over two days – but most of it was self-study. There were no exams but we had assessed assignments and then a 10,000 word dissertation. So, no, the social side of uni life wasn’t the same as if we were full-time, but we still made great friends through our course. Your whole mind-set is different when you come into a degree course later in life, so it was nice to have fellow-students who shared that attitude. Q: What was the best thing about doing that course at that university? A: It was so relevant to my work and I did so much better than I would have done at 18. Q: Is there a decision you made that you are particularly happy about in retrospect? A: I definitely think that the decision to continue studying has been the right one. I chose to have ambition and do what I needed to do in order to fulfil it. When you really love what you are studying it makes a difference to how you view your studies – you don’t find doing the work a chore. Also, doing a professional qualification later in life is great because it’s all relevant to your everyday work. Q: What would you want the INA Sixth Form students to take away from your experience? A: From doing my dissertation, I would say: don’t get overwhelmed when faced with major tasks. You just need to plan properly; break a task down into chunks; and tackle it logically. And from my over-all experience of life-long learning, I would want them to know that it’s never too late to make a choice in your life that is going to help you fulfil your dreams. Year 12 Careers Fair 13th March 2018 Organised by Ms Beled, the first INA Sixth Form Careers Fair took place on Tuesday 13th March as part of the Speakers Programme. The afternoon began with each of the participating guests giving us a short introduction to their work and the path that led them there, sometimes with brief points about the aspects of their jobs they regard as attractive and also the drawbacks; as well as some misconceptions around their jobs. The guests were: Sharif Darwish – Doctor (New York) • Graduated from UCL and worked in the NHS in the UK before moving to New York to specialise in trauma surgery. Myth to dispel: You will automatically be rich just because you’re a doctor. Not true. Pros: Varied and very rewarding work. Life-long learning. Cons: Very long and anti-social hours – working nights and holidays. Challenging work which demands a lot of sacrifices. Sibel Beled – Associate Lawyer at Pinsent Masons • Works for one of the biggest law firms in the EMEA region. • Studied Law at Kings College London • Pinsent Masons – a full service international law firm with offices across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Myth to dispel: You have to have a Law degree to work as a lawyer. Not true, 50% of people working in Law have an undergraduate degree in a non-Law subject. Pros: You’re always learning. It’s stimulating work, with no two days the same. You get to work on high-value projects. Cons: Very hard work and long hours. Asif Farhad – Senior Associate at PWC • Works for one of the Big 4 accountancy firms • Studied Economics at Queen Mary University of London • Began in auditing but found this uninteresting so switched to valuations.