Pupils receive academic guidance throughout their career at school from their Form Teachers. There are regular meetings of other teachers and Heads of Departments with the Headmaster and Deputy Head. In the third term, an Orientation Week is held with meetings for all pupils in Year 9 and above, and their parents. The purpose of Orientation Week is two-fold: on the one hand we aim to inform parents of the decisions faced by their children depending on whether they are in Year 9 or Year 10 and on the other hand we aim to get pupils in Year 12 thinking about what they want to study at university and, indeed, what they want to do thereafter.

To this end there are general meetings in which the School explains the whole of the British educational system and the implications of the choices of subjects that pupils will have to take on entering Year 10 (choice of IGCSE), and on entering Year 12 (choice of AS levels). There are also meetings at which the pupils in Year 12 are addressed by their Form teacher and the Headmaster and meetings at which the pupils are addressed by guest speakers. These talks the pupils generally find stimulating and thought-provoking.

Since half the University faculties in Britain require specific A levels, and these A levels can only be studied with hope of success if the pupil has acquired the necessary background in IGCSE (with the exception of Economics) a pupil's whole adult and professional life may be determined by the choice of IGCSEs made at the tender age of 14.

For this reason the School musters its best brains to advise both parents and pupils on this vital step. It should be said, however, that there are many professional careers and University faculties which do not require specific subjects, provided the pupil has been shown to have a good brain, good study habits and personality. This applies to such fields as Law, Business Management or Accountancy, where, in Britain at least, a student with a good school background and a good degree in almost any subject - for example Classics. Fine Art or languages - may be taken on by an international company which will give the necessary professional training to the neophyte while working and earning.

Year 12 careers orientation

This year's Year 12 orientation was extended to two weeks in order to incorporate a number of visits on top of the usual talks. The purpose of the exercise is for Year 12 to gain an insight into the workings of various industries, with the aim of orienting their university choices in the direction they may hope to pursue in the future. Some come out of the exercise with previous decisions confirmed or re-evaluated, others with a great deal more choices in their heads to pursue. Regardless, it gets them thinking about their future, with a range of informed opinions to help them.

The first week of orientation talks started in the capable hands of JJ Fernández and then ñigo Ramírez de Haro both giving their contrasting advised, yet both encouraging the students to follow their hearts. Later in the week Axel Zorn gave the view of an entrepreneur who had followed a number of career paths, rounding off his trio of general orientation advice. The three currently work in finance, writing and relocations respectively, and other talks focused on further career paths. Marketing featured heavily, with Annja Mostrup, Ignacio de Orúe and Olga San Jacinto, the former focusing on beverages and fashion, the latter two on telecommunications. Barbara Long was kind enough to talk to us about her career in charities and Anne Igartiburu provided an insight into the world of broadcasting. The world of medicine was opened up to us by the Carlos García-Montero and finally, ICADE gave us a view of what higher education here in Madrid can offer our students.

The second week of orientation visits caused many a sleepless night like any new venture but overall it worked out to be quite a success. Special mention must go to Anne Igartiburu, Carlos García-Montero and ICADE, providing us with visits on top of the above talks. Monday's tour of RTVE, including the filming of the morning magazine programme, was as exciting as it sounds. Tuesday saw the students split into two, the first group receiving a surgeon's running commentary on heart surgery with the second attending ICADE. We all joined up again on Wednesday for a tour of MD Beam distillery and on Friday for a visit to a print-works (complete with farewell poster for Alex and Ben who were leaving or midsts). Thanks goes to Jonathan Stordy and Ruben Lerner for help with these. Finally, Thursday saw a more select group attend Cuatro Vientos airfield. I was one of the bigger group who had the chance to fly the flight simulator (I fear the Eiffel Tower will never be the same again!), but the biggest thanks to Luis Serrano will come from the four who got the chance to actually fly a plane.

An exhausting yet highly fulfilling couple of weeks. Will it produce surgeons, pilots, media personalities, and so on for the future? My crystal ball is still cloudy on this but it certainly gives our students a clue as to what the future might hold.