Careers Advice

Targeted career advice and support for every girl

We offer an extensive careers advice programme which helps girls make informed choices about life after school.

While the careers programme is primarily the responsibility of the Head of Careers, many other people are involved, including Heads of House, Middle School Tutors, Sixth Form Tutors, The Management Team and Higher Education Co-ordinators. Professional careers advisors support girls from S4 onwards, alongside representatives from universities, colleges and the workplace.

The Mary Erskine School has an extensive Careers Library and online resources to enable girls to research their chosen careers. There is no substitute for meeting people from various professions when making career choices and girls have extensive opportunities to do so throughout their school careers.  

S1:  All girls participate in Take your Daughter to Work Day, where girls are given the opportunity to experience the workplace with one of their parents.

S2:  All girls participate in The Real Game, a simulation ‘played’ during PSE where girls find out what their lives would be like if they opted to choose different careers. The S2’s also have a lesson using the careers library. This is immediately followed by the S2 Careers Afternoon, where we invite guests from various professions into school to meet and be interviewed by the girls. The Head of Careers is also involved at subject choice time.

S4:  Every girl has the opportunity to undertake a psychometric profiling test before being interviewed by a trained careers advisor. They also have the opportunity to attend our annual Careers Convention which is open to all senior pupils (S4-S6) and has over 50 representatives from Scottish, English and international universities and various professions and employers.

S5:  The girls can attend careers lunches to meet people from different fields of work and alumni and representatives from universities and professions also give individual talks.  S5 girls all receive PSE lessons on post 16 options and life at university. Each girl undertakes at least one work-experience placement and support is given to arrange these. If your daughter studies languages she has the opportunity to take part in work experience exchanges with pupils from France and Germany. Alumni and representatives from universities and professions also give individual talks.  Nearly all our leavers progress to Higher Education and we host a Higher Education information evening to help them with this process. For the few who do not progress into Higher Education, extensive support is given to help them apply for college or apprenticeships or to explore gap year opportunities. In addition, they receive PSE sessions on careers as well as advice with interviews techniques and CV writing. 

Sixth Form:  The advice which our co-educational sixth formers receive on careers and universities is a great strength of ESMS. This is very much a team effort, with our Higher Education Co-ordinators overseeing the university application process while working closely with the Heads of Careers, the Director of Sixth Form and Sixth Form Tutors. Our students go on to take a huge variety of courses at destinations both in the UK and abroad, as well as receiving advice on non-university options through Further Education and apprenticeships.

We have also introduced ESMS Connect, an online networking platform for our S5 and S6 girls and boys and former pupils, allowing them to connect with members of our wider school community for mentoring, support and advice.