Alumnae share experiences of university studies with Sixth Formers

Alumnae sharing their experiences of university studies with our Sixth Formers is so valuable to them. We are extremely grateful to the 15 recent alumnae (representing 11 universities and studying 12 different degrees courses) who volunteered to attend the University Advice morning in July this year.  For the St Helen’s Lower Sixth who are thinking about what courses to study and which universities to apply to, this is the perfect opportunity to ask a myriad of questions and delve into the pros and cons of choosing various options. 

It was wonderful to witness alumnae studying across so many parts of England gathered at St Helen’s to impart their knowledge and experiences to those about to embark on that post school study journey. Some of the alumnae, who were about to graduate from university, told us how much they enjoyed reminiscing about their first year at university. The universities represented on the day included Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Exeter, King’s College London, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, and Southampton. The wealth of degrees the alumnae were able to talk about was equally broad, as they represented a variety of STEM courses (Biology, Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences, Chemistry, Medicine and Psychology) as well as arts, humanities and language courses (Classics, History, International Relations and Modern Languages, Law, Politics and Sociology).  

After the question-and-answer session, the alumnae were invited to join us for a St Helen’s school lunch, followed by a tour of the Benedict Building (our relatively new Sixth Form Centre) for those not familiar with it. For the 2021 leavers, who only just missed out on the opening of the Benedict Building, they were truly wowed by its sheer size and splendour. A particular delight whilst showing them around the rest of the school was when Jana and Livvi found the wall mural which featured them as Year 7 St Helen’s students still on display in the Duffield Building. What a difference ten years makes!

Many thanks to the alumnae for coming in to help at this informative session. We are very grateful for their energy, words of wisdom and for answering the many students’ questions. A special thank you to those who have joined us on previous occasions and chose to return this year.  

The 2026 event is scheduled to be held on Tuesday 30 June, so any alumnae who are interested in helping at the session next year, please note the date in your diary.