Explore Cathedral School

University Preparation

The choice of the right university for each individual is a crucial one. Mistakes can easily be made and not so easily rectified. Very few schools are able to offer the one-to-one expert guidance in the university selection and application process that we do. Russell Group universities are regularly visited and sixth formers are helped by highly experienced staff to discern the right course and institutions to apply for. Specific preparation programmes are provided for Oxbridge, international and medical applicants, who will have the opportunity for rigorous practice interviews with external academies.

We work in close partnership with UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service), ISCO (Independent Schools Careers Organisation), Oxbridge Applications, and a number of Russell Group university admissions departments. One of our sixth form team has wide experience of preparing students for applications to universities beyond the UK, in Europe and the USA, and within the Woodard family of schools itself there is a great amount of experience in this field.

Students who have not yet (in Year 11 when it is first offered) undertaken the ISCO psychometric profile testing will be encouraged to undertake the test. All students will have the opportunity to meet with ISCO advisers and attend specific ISCO courses, along with other courses such as MedLink for aspiring medics. 

Students will experience more changes in the next five years that they are likely to in the rest of their lives! To help them deal with the wide range of issues that will confront them, a comprehensive weekly PHME programme includes sessions on financial management, drug awareness, sexual matters, spirituality, relationships, current affairs and much more.

“We have received lots of advice in terms of UCAS. We have attended open days, career masterclasses, had interview guidance and a UCAS week in the summer, to name just a few!” Jake M