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Futures Fair 2026 | Tuesday 13 October

Our Futures Fair returns on Tuesday 13 October, bringing together an excellent range of universities, employers, training providers and further education colleges to help our students explore what might come next.

Whether they are considering university, an apprenticeship, further education, employment, a gap year or are simply not sure yet, this is an opportunity for students and families to ask questions, compare different routes and start thinking about the possibilities available to them.

Our Careers Leader and UCAS Manager will also be there throughout the event to talk to students and families about university applications, apprenticeships, gap years and the many different pathways available after school and Sixth Form.

The aim is not for every student to have their future mapped out by the end of the evening. It is to give them the information, conversations and confidence to start exploring what could be right for them.

Useful contacts

Mrs C Wilson-Croombs
Careers Leader
Main careers contact for all year groups
cwilson@thedownsschool.org

Miss S Waller
UCAS Manager
University and higher education contact for Sixth Form
swaller@thedownsschool.org

Mrs P Jarrett
Student Support Manager
Apprenticeships and alternative pathways contact for Sixth Form
pjarrett@tds.school

 

Universities attending

• Cardiff University

• Lancaster University

• Oxford Brookes University

• University of Bath

• University of Birmingham

• University of Exeter

• University of Plymouth

• University of Portsmouth

• University of Reading

• University of Sheffield

• University of Surrey

• University of Winchester

• University of the West of England, Bristol

Employers and organisations

• Jones Robinson

• Acres of Fun Nursery

• SS&L Early Years and Schools

• UHY Ross Brooke

• James Cowper Kreston

• AWE

• Thames Water

• Royal Air Force

• Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service

• Thames Valley Police

• Prior’s Court

Further education and training providers

• West Berkshire Training Consortium

• Sparsholt College

• Henley College

• Newbury College – TBC

• Oxford & Reading College – TBC

With such a broad range of organisations attending, there should be something for every student to discover, whether they already have a plan or are only just beginning to think about what their future might look like.