Beautiful Spring sunshine welcomed pupils and delegates for one of the jewels in the school calendar, the Moreton Hall Universities and Careers Fair.

With over 50 exhibitors including universities from all corners of the UK, as well as representatives from a diverse variety of professions and industries, there was something for every taste, talent and aspiration at Moreton Hall’s annual Universities and Careers Fair. With visiting pupils from St Martins, Lakelands Academy and Ysgol Dinas Bran, Moreton Hall’s Sports Hall buzzed with the sound of young people exploring how to start their career journey and realise their dream.

The school’s own alumni are always a key part of this highlight of the school calendar. Old Moretonians (2016) Kitty Peel and Tashy Rowland joined us to share their experiences of gap year travel, undergraduate study at the University of Exeter and starting graduate jobs in London, and Alyona Kalenkova (OM 2021) to talk about studying a STEM subject at Imperial College London.

As always, the diverse range of seminars were well attended including ‘How to Choose the Right Course and University’ and ‘Applying to Oxbridge’.

For Sixth Form students Emma, Mia and Isabelle it was a fantastic opportunity to shortlist their choices and explore options they hadn’t previously considered. As Mia says: “I woke up on Wednesday morning with no idea about what I wanted to do and now I have serious course options and the opportunity of legal work experience.” Emma particularly enjoyed finding out about gap year opportunities and the sports scholarships offered by universities such as Newcastle and is now going to look further into studying an undergraduate degree that combines Business and Psychology. Isabelle commented: “For the first time I feel really motivated about the future after finding the perfect niche course that matches my interests and practical learning style. The students enthused about how friendly and helpful all the representatives were”.

It was a sentiment echoed by a visiting parent who was in no doubt of the work that had gone into making the day happen: “Wow! Head of Next Steps (Careers), Mrs Ashworth, should be commended: not only for the number of delegates who attended, but the variety of options to explore: from seminars to so many university and professional delegates. Exceptional in her approach, Mrs Ashworth has given all of the young people attending a chance to speak to real people in real time – this is not reading a brochure or a website. This is real life. How better to be prepared.” A sentiment echoed by another parent: “It was fabulous to see so many universities present from all over the country as well as representatives from the armed forces, medical professions and the financial sector. It was also wonderful to see pupils from a wide range of schools present. A huge success all round!’

Reflecting on the day, Catherine Ashworth commented: “All the exhibitors were delighted to have the opportunity to meet such enthusiastic and engaged students with many commenting on how exceptionally well prepared students were for the event. ‘The calibre of questions was outstanding’ said one ‘we will definitely be back next year!’”

“We were thrilled to be joined once again by Moreton legend Pat Willis, who despite retiring from Moreton last year, was determined to make an appearance at her 37th Moreton Careers Fair!”