Future Options

You will hear a talk about future options given by a headteacher to students who are going to leave school next year. Listen to the talk and complete the details below. Write one or two words only in each gap.

Listen carefully, everybody. As you know, this is your final year at school, and there are several options available to you after you leave. We’ve decided to arrange a series of lunchtime talks, every Tuesday from next week until the end of term, for any of you to come to if you’re interested. We hope it will help you think about your future options, and make the decision-making process slightly easier.

I know lots of you are hoping to go to university. So, we’ll start off by considering the reasons for and against taking a year off. We’ll also provide you with some general information about how to get a loan, should you need to cover your university costs.

We’ve arranged several short sessions on a range of courses you could consider. The most popular ones tend to be, for example, Law, Medicine, and Economics – we’ll start off with the last of these. If there’s a particular course you’d like us to cover, just let us know.

There will also be a useful session which focuses on the ways in which university life differs from being at school – you’ll need to get used to working alone without so much guidance, and obviously time management is something that most people need to think about.

We’ve also invited a few guest speakers to join us. Firstly, two or three ex-students who are currently in their second year at university are going to come back here and tell you about some practical things – such as having a job during term-time, accommodation, and dealing with money. We’ve contacted a couple of professors too, who can tell you about the academic side of things. We’ve invited Professor Black from Hampton College, who we’re still waiting to hear back from, and also Professor James, from Bridge College, who has accepted. She’ll be happy to answer specific questions if you send them in beforehand.

Of course, not all of you want to go to university. It’s becoming increasingly popular to do an apprenticeship, which means learning a practical trade from an employer. So, we’ve arranged a couple of sessions on this too. You might be considering a future as a mechanic, let’s say. A member of staff will talk about this possibility, and other options including becoming a plumber; and a hairdresser will also come in and tell us how he began his working life as an apprentice.

Others of you might prefer to go straight into employment. So, we’ll have a session on that, in which you can watch a DVD – Choosing Jobs. There’s another really useful DVD – Successful Interviews, and you can watch that in your own time.

That is just an outline of what’s on offer. For more information, take a look at the newsletter which you can pick up from the table next to the reception, and also at the noticeboard in the corridor in front of the library. The sessions themselves will be in the computer room – you don’t need to sign up in advance – just turn up on the day. So, has anyone got any questions?

Here are the keywords and phrases covered in this activity

• accommodation
• corridor
• economics
• employment
• final year
• guest speakers
• guidance
• future options
• newsletter
• noticeboard 
• practical trade
• several options
• university costs