Engaging in super-curricular activities is the most important thing you can do during Year 12. Super-curricular means anything related to your studies but outside what you would learn at school. Universities and apprenticeship providers will expect to see that you have shown an interest in the subject area or career that goes beyond school. It also shows that you have the enthusiasm, motivation and discipline to work independently and learn just for the love of learning.

Many opportunities to engage in face-to-face super-curricular activities (summer schools, Sutton Trust and Oxford University programmes like UNIQ) are only available to you in Year 12. That’s why it is important to start thinking about this early so that you do not miss out. The list below is a good starting point for super-curricular activities:

All subjects

• FutureLearn has a range of free courses in different subject areas. Type ‘free’ into the search bar. 

• OpenLearn is a similar site run by the Open University and has many free courses. 

• Springpod runs many virtual work experience courses for young people. 

• Unifrog also has many subject and career-related lectures and presentations to watch. You will need your school Unifrog login details to access these.

• Forage is a site offering free work ‘simulations’. Like work experience, you can test out what it would be like to do a particular job before you follow that path.

• Oxford University has a brilliant ‘Preparing for Oxford’ pack, but this is really for anyone who wants to engage with their subject area. The pack also includes information about Open Days, events and programmes run by the University.

• Cambridge University has created a valuable directory of super-curricular opportunities for every subject. Again, this is not just for students looking to go to Cambridge. 

• The Sutton Trust run programmes throughout the year but most need to be applied for before December of your Year 12. 

• UNIQ is run by Oxford University and gives students the opportunity to take part in an academic programme in a number of courses. Applications usually close in January of Year 12. 

• TED Talks are a great way to watch free lectures and engage in innovative subject-specific ideas. 

• Edukatico offers free university-level lectures to watch and complete short courses.

• Gresham College also offers hundreds of free lectures to watch.

• It is also important to read articles and journals or listen to podcasts.

Finally, use the opportunities offered at school to really develop skills and gain experience outside the classroom. This could mean getting involved in mock trials, debating, competitions, volunteering, Jacari tutoring or mentoring younger students. It all adds up!