Careers

Careers

In the modern world, mathematically well-trained minds go into a hugely diverse range of different fields and industries. Here are just some examples: aerospace engineering, education, artificial intelligence, bioscience, business and consultancy, data science and financial modelling. You can learn more about how mathematics is a door-opening subject at www.mathscareers.org.uk

We support every King’s Maths School student to do some form of work placement or experience during their two years at the school, usually completed in the summer between Year 12 and Year 13. Our specialist team works closely with students over the duration of their time here. They ensure students progress onto the next stages of their lives armed with all the knowledge and preparation to forge successful careers.

Note for Employers

Any provider wishing to request access should contact Jeremy Judge, Careers Lead, jeremy.judge@kcl.ac.uk.

Progression to university

With online guidance available from King’s College London, our partner university, we encourage students to select the courses and universities they want to apply for.

In Year 12, we put on a sequence of talks and visits designed to help students figure out what subject area they wish to study. Some of our most popular career talks have been from alumni who have returned to KCLMS to speak to students about their career paths, university experiences and more.

Once the end-of-year exams are over, we take students to visit universities and encourage them to attend as many of these trips as possible. We provide detailed guidance and support about the application process, and in particular, the personal statement. In addition, we offer mock interviews for students.

At the start of Year 13, students finalise their decisions with our advice, and submit their university applications. Our outcomes here speak for themselves:

In 2023, 33% of KCLMS students secured places at Oxford or Cambridge. The most popular destinations were, in order, Oxford, Warwick, Cambridge, Durham, Bath, Imperial and LSE.

Despite the reduction in national grade profiles to 2019 levels, over 90% of our students secured one of their preferred UCAS offers, and all students secured a strong university place or competitive industry placement. The 2023 cohort's attainment improved on the Class of 2019's, seeing a notable increase in the proportion of A*s awarded.

In 2019, 27% of students progressed to Oxbridge and 87% progressed to Russell Group universities. At the time, these were the highest figures in the state school sector.

"The school was massively helpful, constantly encouraging us to take part in additional extension activities and reading outside of the curriculum that made the writing of the personal statement, probably the most stressful part of the process, much easier."

Abu, King's Maths School alum who is currently reading Maths and Computer Science at Oxford University.

Progression to Apprenticeship

Talks and information provided throughout Year 12 also encourage alternative options to university, in particular, competitive degree apprenticeships. KCLMS is in close partnership with ASK Apprenticeships UK, a government-funded company, which provides information and support to students about every type of apprenticeship programme available, initially through a whole-year assembly visit.

In PD lessons, students are given the opportunity to research and explore the apprenticeship options available to them through different resources and webinars. National Apprenticeships Week is advertised and celebrated within the school.

Internship opportunities

Students are informed in assemblies about a wide range of internship opportunities provided by our industry partners. These highly competitive internship placements usually take place during the summer holidays once a student has left KCLMS. They are an excellent way to gain valuable work experience.

There are also several paid internships exclusively available to KCLMS students ranging from 8-12 months offered by ZOE, a personalised nutrition start-up, Garrison, a cyber security firm, and Man Group, a financial services company and partner of our school.

In addition, Man Group runs a summer work experience scheme for a week for a small number of Year 12 students.

Useful links:

Degree apprenticeships: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-and-degree-apprenticeships

National Apprenticeship Week: https://naw.appawards.co.uk/

National Careers Week: https://ncw2024.co.uk/

University guide: https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/

Open days: https://www.opendays.com/

Complete University Guide: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings

The Pay Index: https://www.thepayindex.com/

Maths Careers: https://www.mathscareers.org.uk/

University Open Days: https://www.opendays.com/calendar/

UCAS University Open Days: https://www.ucas.com/explore/search/events?query=

Complete University Guide: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/open-days

Amazing Apprenticeships - https://amazingapprenticeships.com/

Apprenticeships resources: Resource hub

Government Apprenticeships

WES Apprentice Showcase

Internships

Internships vs Apprenticeships

National Careers Service

Telephone: 0800 100 900
Text messages: 07766 413 219
Textphone: 0800 096 8336
Monday to Sunday, 8am to 10pm

Helping your child begin their career journey

Success at School is a national careers website for students aged 11-19, as well as their teachers, careers advisors, parents and other influencers. They’ve put together this no-nonsense careers advice, covering topics such as career paths, industries, apprenticeships, university and employability skills, alongside gap year info and how to futureproof your child’s career. Parents & Carers e-book

Additional support

Don’t yet know what you would like to do? If you don’t do anything else, do The Spartan Test which is a very clever psychometric quiz. It builds a profile of you based on your responses to a series of pictures and then creates your very own Subjects Cloud and Career Cloud based on your profile.

From those clouds you can find out all about every career or course with one click. It takes only 6 minutes from start to finish. Although you can just dip in and do the Spartan Test, do REGISTER. It will save your results and organise it in your own Research Zone.