More news just in from my Welsh correspondent. Aberystwyth Uni has put together two new series of webinars for 6th Form/FE students. They start on Monday but continue through October and November. The first series is: "What are Admissions Tutors Looking For?" These are 30-minute faculty-based webinars featuring input from admissions tutors across a range … Continue reading Upcoming Monday webinars by Aberystwyth University

Headlines I’m pleased to report very positive news at last. It does incorporate some editorial licence on my part, but that’s because Week 27 is when we’ve started to see clear evidence of the bigger providers starting to open their 2021 recruitment. Some large recruiters seem to be deserting the government’s apprenticeship site and others … Continue reading 27 weeks after the start of ‘lockdown’: latest update on the impact of COVID-19 on Higher & Degree Apprenticeship vacancies in England

Latest developments The plot thickens! I would summarise Week 26 developments as follows: The slump in new Degree Apprenticeship (DA) vacancies continued with only 12 new vacancies posted in Week 26, following on from the paltry 9 in Week 25.In contrast the number of Higher Apprenticeship (HA) vacancies continued to hold up well, with 84 … Continue reading 26 weeks after the start of ‘lockdown’: latest update on the impact of COVID-19 on Higher & Degree Apprenticeship vacancies in England

Headlines This week’s report is a medley of highs, lows and signs of an intriguing trend. The low point was that in Week 25 the number of new Degree Apprenticeship (DA) vacancies advertised in England and suitable for school/college leavers came to a dismal total of nine. This must surely be the lowest figure since … Continue reading 25 weeks after the start of ‘lockdown’: latest update on the impact of COVID-19 on Higher & Degree Apprenticeship vacancies in England

Headlines This week I’m pleased to report a distinct upturn, although it remains to be seen whether this is another flash in the pan or the start of a recovery. The improvement on this occasion was also somewhat London-centric with, unusually, over 70% of the new vacancies in the Greater London area. In particular there … Continue reading 24 weeks after the start of ‘lockdown’: latest update on the impact of COVID-19 on Higher & Degree Apprenticeship vacancies in England

Headlines A distinct trend has been noticeable over the last six weeks. It’s not a very encouraging trend, but it would be interesting to debate whether there’s a rationale that explains it or if it’s just a blip. Excluding recent bulk postings of degree apprenticeships (DAs) by West Yorkshire Police (150) and the Valuation Office … Continue reading 23 weeks after the start of ‘lockdown’: latest update on the impact of COVID-19 on Higher & Degree Apprenticeship vacancies in England

I took this whilst visiting some universities in typically glorious Welsh sunshine last October! My Welsh correspondent has been keeping me busy this summer. But being half Welsh myself, I’m always happy to do what I can to keep the Principality in the minds of students and parents when they’re investigating and researching uni choices. … Continue reading Study in Wales Virtual HE Fair on Friday 4 September

Headlines The latest week in my ongoing survey saw 89 new higher and degree apprenticeship vacancies posted, comprising 51 DAs and 38 HAs. 40 of the DAs were all for Chartered Surveyors with the Valuation Office Agency, but these were dispersed quite widely around England and helped to keep my regional analysis looking fairly healthy … Continue reading 22 weeks after the start of ‘lockdown’: latest update on the impact of COVID-19 on Higher & Degree Apprenticeship vacancies in England

I’m hearing on my Welsh grapevine that Aberystwyth Uni still has vacancies in some subject areas and will be offering at least five hours per week of face to face teaching, in addition to any other teaching inputs this autumn. Accommodation can also be guaranteed to Clearing applicants at least until mid-September. Being located in … Continue reading UCAS Clearing news from West Wales

Postscript: This blogpost was written a few hours before the government performed a U-turn and the situation changed, but I'm leaving it intact as a record of how I perceived things on the day, topped and tailed with brief updates. In 43 years as a guidance practitioner, it was the most difficult and extraordinary A-Level … Continue reading A-Level results 2020: “Even the happy students weren’t happy”