Making decisions about university and future careers: when is the right time?

Making decisions about university and future careers: when is the right time? Every step on your child’s learning journey helps to shape their aspirations for what they might do in future. Each subject they explore, MIT professor they meet via Global Campus, expedition they go on to explore new cultures - all feeds into their ever-expanding view of the world and their place in it.

Every step on your child’s learning journey helps to shape their aspirations for what they might do in future. Each subject they explore, MIT professor they meet via Global Campus, expedition they go on to explore new cultures - all feeds into their ever-expanding view of the world and their place in it. 

We are often asked when the ‘right time’ is for conversations about making decisions for the future. Rather than recommend a specific time scale, instead we recommend our parents keep two milestones in mind and how decisions at each of these stages help to open future pathways and opportunities.

Milestone 1 - Year 10, shaping their path to university.

In year ten, our students can select particular subjects to study. At this stage we recommend students keep their International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) choices broad and varied. The aim in year 10 is not to place students under pressure to decide what they would like to study at university, but instead to focus on where their strengths and interests lie across a mix of different subject types. By choosing subjects your child enjoys and can excel in, it sets them up with a great foundation for the AS and A levels in year twelve and thirteen.

Milestone 2 - Year 11, identifying students interests leading to the university of their choice.

Year eleven is when students make their most significant subject decisions as they look ahead to the A levels they will begin in year twelve. This decision process takes place in March and is also when students receive their most substantial university guidance from our school’s University Counsellor, Mr Jacques Krige. 

AS and A levels are designed to equip students with a broad range of skills. We ensure students approach their education not as a specific destination, but as a journey. In practice this means that instead of encouraging a student to say that they would like to study at UCL in London, for example, we encourage them to think about what values and interests underpin their subject interests. Instead, they might identify that they are passionate about making a contribution to healthcare and securing an internationally recognised degree which helps them to do this around the world. We then help them to identify the skill sets and subjects they would need to pursue to achieve their ultimate goal. 

Many 15-16 year olds have a limited idea of what careers exist as they simply haven’t been exposed to them yet, so it is important that we help them to explore their options. We hold sessions to help students think about different career pathways and possibilities, understand university systems, and gain a better understanding of which careers different university courses can lead to. Our University Counsellor also provides an enormous amount of online resources, webinars, careers workshops and career showcases in which students can explore jobs through the experiences of people who work in the field.

Importantly, when choosing subjects we guide all of our year eleven’s to think about and understand the importance of gaining a transferable, interdisciplinary skill set. The world of work is forever changing and traditional pathways to a career which exist now, may not exist in the future. It is our job to prepare them for this and to help them build a robust, competitive skill set which prepares them for success in a changing job market.

Find out more

We hope we have helped you to better understand how we guide our students at the British School of Tashkent towards a pathway which equips them for the world of work and pursuing their career ambitions. 

To find out more about a secondary school education with us and the curricula we teach visit our Learning page.