Higher Education and Careers
Careers education at Mayfield is designed to inspire and guide every student, helping them discover their strengths and explore pathways that lead to future success.
We offer a structured careers programme that provides consistent guidance, enabling students to explore post-secondary education options and gain valuable work experience.
Throughout their school journey, students explore a range of careers and pathways, enabling them to make informed choices and confidently shape their futures.
Head of Careers
Mrs Rachel Davies
rdavies@mayfieldgirls.org
The OC Network
Our alumnae network, the “OCs,” generously share their time and experiences to inspire our students, offering advice and providing valuable work experience opportunities.
Work Experience
We encourage all students to pursue meaningful work experience after their GCSEs, using a combination of personal contacts, independent research, and the support of our extensive alumnae network.
Careers Fair October 2025
There was a real buzz throughout the school at the Careers Fair in October. With 38 stands representing a wide range of industries, students had an excellent opportunity to explore careers they hadn’t previously considered and discuss their aspirations.
We were very privileged to have Georgina Worrall as our keynote speaker, delivering an excellent talk on "Resilience While Navigating the Career Pathway." A special thanks to our sponsor, GCS Retail Loss Prevention, for their support.
More details about the exhibitors who featured are available below:
News and Events from the Careers Hub
Plumpton College offer a wide range of vocational and degree courses, including land management, veterinary nursing, animal physiotherapy and wine making. Open Days are in January, March and June 2026.
Looking for Chemistry related work experience? Check out the Royal Society of Chemistry website for great advice and links to companies offering opportunities:
This association is offering an excellent online event about starting a career in the art world on Saturday 6th December:
ACCA, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, have put together some excellent resources for students and parents about careers in accountancy:
P & O have an excellent apprenticeship scheme that enables sudents to gain valuable experience whilst gaining qualifications in engineering, electro-technical, and running a ship:
If you would like to know more about apprenticeships, this is an excellent summary of the process. It is a great way to get debt free qualifications whilst earning a salary. However, it is a numbers game and you need to be prepared to apply to a lot of companies: The Sixth Formers' Guide to Degree Apprenticeships - YouTube
Gresham College online public lectures. Perfect for students undertaking an EPQ or just wanting to enhance their knowledge in a broad range of areas such as Black Holes, the brain, inequality, conspiracy theories and many more! The lectures are delivered by world-class experts in their fields and are available at a touch of a button! Lots of past recordings available in a ‘Watch Now’ section. Details at: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on?see-all
Residential Insight into University Courses from the Engineering Development Trust (EDT). Designed for Yr12 students, these summer schools run for 4/5 days at various top universities and give you a taster of university life and an insight into a specific STEM subject. There are university style lectures and activities and group projects supported by academics and student mentors. To find out more see: https://www.etrust.org.uk/residential-insight-into-university
Virtual work experiences. Digdata is offering free virtual work experience events for Yrs 10-13. The career challenges are designed to develop key employability skills such as problem solving, data literacy, storytelling, and presentation. They include a 45-minute briefing, a career challenge at your own pace and certification upon completion. They have a resource of challenges from lots of big employers, such as Shell, Meta, Unilver, GSK, see: https://digdata.online/register-now-for-our-upcoming-events/
Virtual medical work experience (There is a fee of £10 for these courses) Take your first steps towards a healthcare career with the UK’s only Interactive Virtual Work Experience Programme created and delivered by healthcare professionals. You can select from one day or a full 6 month work experience programme where you will follow patients from admission to discharge in the high fidelity simulation suite, designed to provide you with an immersive experience from the comfort and safety of home. Simply select the dates below and save £10 if you opt for the full 6 month work experience programme. Students will be awarded certificates for attending each day. No work experience day is the same (as in real life), but students will gain insight into a variety of healthcare settings. Interactive Virtual NHS Healthcare Careers Work Experience Programme - Allied Healthcare Mentor
The Telegraph Media Literacy Programme. Open to 16-18-year-olds, the programme will run for four weeks, beginning on Tuesday, 3rd March 2026. Sessions will be with a range of Telegraph journalists from departments including news, sports, beauty, music, and social media and take place online from 4:00 to 5:10 pm every Tuesday (you must not miss lessons). At the end of the programme, each student will receive a Telegraph Media Literacy Journalism Certificate. For details and applications see: https://careers.telegraph.co.uk/jobs/job-details/The-Telegraph-Media-Literacy-Programme-2026-London
Sheffield Live online Events
The University of Sheffield offers weekly online sessions which will enable you to find out more about different aspects of university life. They will run throughout the year with different topics such as accommodation and student societies as well as subject spotlights.
For more information, timetable and booking see: https://sheffield.ac.uk/study/online-events
This site offers a range of free virtual work experience for 13-18 year olds. Check out their latest opportunities:
Met office: Met Office Careers - Forecasting Your Future | Springpod For 13+:
Retail experience - Retail Work Experience with Aldi | Springpod
Thinking of a career in Media? The BBC offers great tater day opportunities for 16-18 year olds. and work placement schemes are available for 18+. Get In Taster Experiences | BBC Early Careers
Degree apprenticeship applications are now open with a salary of around £22k whilst you gain your qualification:
Level 6 | BBC Early Careers
Deloitte are offereing apprenticeship opportunities in Finance. Scroll through for the BrightStart Apprenticeships:
Job Search | Deloitte
Legal Apprenticeship opportunity in Tunbridge Wells with Cripps for current Year 13 students who would like to start in September 2026. The recruitment process is now open with a deadline of 4th January for submitting the application Legal apprenticeships | Cripps
The Jimmy Choo Academy, JCA | London Fashion Academy provides a bespoke education for the next generation of fashion pioneers and accelerates your career by opening the right doors into the fashion industry.
Follow this link for news about open days, Saturday courses, fashion camps and events:
Events & Open Days
Full Time Courses
Rolls Royce Employability Skills: Springpod have launched The World of Rolls-Royce - a new collection of free, one-hour Springpod Sprints where students can explore real careers with one of the world’s most iconic engineering companies.Each Sprint is an interactive online experience where students take on a realistic task, learn from Rolls-Royce professionals, and earn a certificate to boost their CV or UCAS application.
Employability skills | Rolls-Royce Powered by Springpod
UKSA’s Superyacht Cadetship is a unique, structured training programme designed to take you from aspiring seafarer to qualified Officer of the Watch (Yachts <3000GT) in just five years. Various open days throughout the year: Attend an Open Day - UKSA
GAP Year opportunities
Thinking of a gap year with travel and volunteering? Projects Abroad is the world’s largest provider of international volunteering, internships and meaningful travel experiences. They have been running for over 25 years and have been trusted by over 120,000 participants. They are champions of responsible travel, so all their volunteer projects work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. See; https://www.projects-abroad.co.uk/
Thinking about a gap year as a ski instructor in Canada? Ski Le Gap was established in 1994 and provides ski and snowboard courses designed specifically with gap years in a ski resort in Canada in mind. Having trained over 3000 instructors from around the world they are confident you will have the ultimate winter experience. Detailed information at https://skilegap.com/
Fancy a GAP year on an African or Asian adventure? Africa & Asia Venture (AV) offer volunteer projects in Africa, Asia & Latin America. These can be teaching, sports coaching, community work or conservation projects. They are usually 3-5 weeks or 3-5 months. For more details see: www.aventure.co.uk
Apprenticeship applications now open!
Click on the image for more information
