Careers and Destinations

University

Each year, Oakwood Park Grammar School has a high proportion of students moving on to ‘Russell Group’ universities. From the cohort of 2020, 36% of students progressing on to university, joined top universities with an average entry requirement of AAA. The students with the very highest marks joined, Oxford, University College London, Edinburgh, Durham and Warwick, which rank in the top five UK universities.

Four of our students have also gained a place to study Medicine.

Some of the university destinations for OPGS leavers in 2020 are listed below:

• University of Oxford reading English Language and Literature
• University of Oxford reading Psychology and Philosophy
• University College London reading Politics and International Relations
• Durham University reading Health and Human Sciences
• University of Warwick reading History and Politics
• University of Warwick reading Discrete Mathematics
• University of Leeds studying Medicine
• Cardiff University studying Medicine
• University of East Anglia studying Medicine
• St George’s, University of London studying Medicine
• University of Manchester reading Mathematics
• University of Exeter reading Law (3)
• University of Exeter reading History
• University of Southampton reading Aeronautics and Astronautics

The Arts: We are also keen to support creative talent and some of our outstanding students are now studying in specialist colleges pursuing Theatre, Music and Art courses. These include:

• Drama at Guildford School of Acting

• Drama, Applied Theatre at Royal Central School of Speech & Drama
• Art at Royal College of Drawing
• Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) at University of Surrey
• Popular Music Performance at BIMM Institute

Employment: In the past few years we have seen an increasing number of students joining the City (Bank of America, PWC and Lloyds) for sponsored degrees or employment. This year students have also taken up a number o​f  local Higher Apprenticeships, including positions within accountancy, computer Science and the Police

OPGS instigated the setting up of a Sixth Form Careers Fair in 2018, supported by two local members of parliament. This was held at Maidstone Leisure Centre and involved major international companies. We continue to maintain links with top engineering companies and The Chartered Institute of Insurers run networking events for OPGS students to enable them to use digital communication to increase their social capital in a competitive market.

OPGS students are sought after. They aim high and, due to their excellent results and enriched Sixth Form life, are attractive candidates for the most competitive universities and ‘blue chip’ companies.