The annual event is held to educate students about the wide variety of university courses on offer as well as alternative pathways of study including gap years, apprenticeships, or immediate gratification (enrolling into an instant workplace).  

Everyone helps, including student volunteers, most teachers and representatives from various universities or career paths. 

Due to this event being cancelled last year due to COVID-19, there were more attendees than ever. Pupils from other local schools including St. Andrews, Howard of Effingham and St Teresa’s also joined the evening for information. 

 

The night began with there being stands for each of the representatives for different career paths in the main foyer. Some of these included insights into broadcast journalism, lawyers, banking and finance, civil services, veterinary surgery, and armed forces, as well as many others. 

Visitors queued to speak to the professionals, taking booklets and leaflets which were offered all filled with plentiful details and advice. 

In another hall, there were stations for different universities, including Exeter, UCL, Imperial, Warwick, and Nottingham. These are only 5 of the 27 universities who were present, so there were plenty of people to speak to. After speaking to the spokesperson at each station, I felt more motivated to achieve my full potential. Everyone seemed entertained and content with the event – a ‘truly educational evening’ Emilia Dowling would describe it as, who was also present at the event. 

 

The last part of the night was a talk from the University of Bath, regarding the admissions process and other things which students should consider when applying to university – ‘Is it city or campus?’, ‘What are the facilities like?’ to name a few of the questions answered from this talk. The presenter also described the application process, including how to write a personal statement and some details about UCAS. 

 

Overall, the experience was helpful and opened students’ eyes up to the endless list of opportunities there are for further education. It helped increase motivation to study and gain the place in University for my desired course.

The next big event which City of London Freemen’s are hosting is the Christmas fair which as a school community are all very excited to be involved in.