Getting to a top university in the UK and overseas

Top Universities increasingly are looking for students who show a clear commitment to the subject area they want to study. 

Here at CATS Canterbury we have launched our new booklet on the Key Professions who list all the different activities you can be involved in which will really support your university application for the future. 

We also have a range of other activities from horse riding to football which its great to be involved in so its good to look at all the options you have - enjoy yourself but also be really well prepared for your university future. Staff at the college and overseas have copies of this they will be very pleased to let you have.


All the best

Jonathan

Celebrating the IB in Canterbury

An exciting day today as we welcome Mary Langford a top IB speaker to the college and many guests from all over the world. IB is the fastest growing pre university programme in the world, now offered by most of the top schools in the UK. This afternoon its the students turn with students talking about their experience of IB to guests and how the year has gone for them. Students are always amazing ambassadors for the college. They really grow in knowledge and understanding during their time with us and we aim to really create global citizens ready for the world.

On a quite different level, in the middle of this bulldozers have started work builidng our new 95 bed residence in the heart of the college which will continue to expand our campus which is all in the same place on New Dover Road surrounded by trees and near the centre of town. Its an amazing place to live and I always feel very privileged living oppostite the college to be in such an amazing historic and cultural location.

Remember you are always welcome to visit us here, and a warm welcome will always await you.

Jonathan

IB Conference in Canterbury

We are all preparing for our exciting IB Conference this week when we will welcome a large number of agents and staff to meet our IB students and spend time in Canterbury. We are highly regarded as an IB language centre in the South of England, offering 26 different languages with IB and all our students have the option of taking the bi-lingual Diploma. We also have a wide range of leadership courses our students take and we have won awards for the quality of our work here. It will be great to meet everyone and show them exactly what we do here with introductions to boarding at Canterbury, IB, activities, extra courses we offer here and how we can be a really good choice for international students taking the IB with us.

Jonathan Ullmer

Cutting edge education in Canterbury

It's really important that we are not only good, but are the best at what we do. In Canterbury we are one of the first schools in the UK to pilot new software monitoring the quality of lessons which we share with teachers as they look at the very best way we can serve our students. Up to 15 staff regularly attend 8am training sessions to keep learning more about cutting edge education. The top quality of our staff training was recognised by the College of Teachers with their Royal Charter who validate our work so it can be shared nationwide. Both our House Parent training and teacher training is validated by them.

Another great development was our linking with GL Assessment where staff at CATS Canterbury planned and designed the software to link their evaluation systems with independent schools like CATS. We were the first independent school in the UK to use this great new software linking our evaluations, appraisals and lesson observations into one place with all staff having the chance to participate and be part of it.

We believe strongly is working as a family with staff and students all very much a team in developing great ideas and the latest cutting edge ideas from on line teaching and learning to students in major international conferences in New York and Leadership Training Days here.

Join us as we showcase education for the 21st Century

Jonathan Ullmer

Latest news on UK exams

You may be interested to know that early entry GCSE - typically after one year of study - have fallen from 169,000 students to 31,000 students in the UK this year. It reflects the government drive to stop early entry of students who are simply not ready to get the grades they deserve. You also need to be aware of changes to GCSE and A level to make them much harder in the coming years. With Russell Group top universities looking increasingly at students needing the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), A levels for top students are starting to look more like IB with the differences between what you need for the 2 courses growing a little closer together. We have always stressed for top students 'A levels alone are not enough' . You need to do things from the Key Professions booklet in Canterbury along with things like EPQ to enhance your chances at the very top universities.

We have booklets about all our courses and activities and all the amazing range of extra activities we offer linked to your subject areas and future plans - just ask and we are delighted to send on

Jonathan Ullmer

Proms and Graduation - a great finish to the year

Welcome to the CATS Canterbury Principal's Blog.

Foundation and AS level students are starting their exams while our IB2 students have just finished. But all are excitedly looking forward to our Prom on Friday 13th June. Last year nearly 200 students attended at the beaufiful Abbots Barton Hotel near the college with fun and celebrations on the lawn afterwards. Its a real highlight of the year and here are some photos from last year. Beginings and endings of years are really important as we celebrate the great things students have done with us. A week later on 19th June is our Graduation in the Gulbenkian Theatre with guest of honour the Vice Chancellor of the University of Kent who will speak to students and present certificates to celebrate their time with us.

Our students have some amazing achievements. Not only do they get good exam results and have great destinations, but they have really developed into leaders of the future. All of them have had interviews with local businesses, some have set up their own companies while in Canterbury with Young Enterprise and one of our student companies was voted the 'Best Company' in competition against British Schools in the South of England! Other students have done language leadership Awards and Sports Leadership Awards. Nearly 50 have nearly completed the British Boarding Schools Award, with others achieving the Excelsis Award and Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Some have achieved the CATS Leadership Award worth 70 UCAS points - others have worked on Trading Floors in the City of London or marketing seminars with top companies in the South of England. Our students have attended engineering workshops with Oxford University, done on line courses with Kings College London, and trained as buddies learning how to support others and understand the importance in leadership of emotional intelligence.

Our students have much to be proud of as they finish their studies with us. They have won Gold Medals from the Royal Chemistry Society - and they have beaten  football teams all over the area. They have won awards for their work, and the amazing nature of the College in Canterbury was recognised by the Independent Schools Association who have not only given us an Award of Excellence but this year we were also presented with a certificate for Excellence and Innovation.

Unlike schools who talk about their work, we give clear booklets to every student listing exactly what they can do during their time with us and how to get involved - and these are all available to all our staff in the UK and overseas. We are proud of our students and what they do and invite everyone to join in the celebrations this summer as we say farewell at our June and August Graduations to another really geat group of students

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Jonathan Ullmer