What is a good destination?
The importance of accessing a good destination after an education at King Solomon Academy is fundamental to our school’s mission. Everything we do is informed by an ambitious end-point that aims to make our young people ‘successful at university and beyond’.
At King Solomon Academy, we talk from a young age about what good destinations look like. We define a high-quality destination at age 18 as being a top third university or a high-quality apprenticeship.
We prepare students for these through our Academic Curriculum and Careers Curriculum
Top Third Universities
Throughout the school, we have taught students about aiming for top third universities as these have been found to have the most benefits for students in terms of academic teaching quality, results and graduate prospects. Within the top third, we split these into 3 categories – Super Selective, Highly Selective and Selective to help students understand the differences between the top third universities.
Super Selective Universities
|
Institution |
|
University of Cambridge |
|
University of Oxford |
|
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine |
|
London School of Economics and Political Science |
|
University of Durham |
|
University of Warwick |
|
University College London |
|
University of St Andrews |
|
University of Bristol |
Highly Selective Universities
|
Institution |
|
University of Bath |
|
University of Exeter |
|
Kings College London |
|
University of Edinburgh |
|
University of Birmingham |
|
University of York |
|
University of Sheffield |
|
University of Manchester |
|
University of Nottingham |
|
University of Southampton |
|
University of Lancaster |
|
University of Leeds |
|
University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
Selective Universities
|
Institution |
|
School of Oriental and African Studies |
|
University of Sussex |
|
University of Liverpool |
|
Cardiff University |
|
University of Glasgow |
|
University of Surrey |
|
Queen Mary and Westfield College |
|
University of Leicester |
|
Loughborough University |
|
Royal Holloway and Bedford New College |
|
University of East Anglia |
|
University of Reading |
|
Aston University |
|
City University |
|
University of Aberdeen |
|
Goldsmiths College |
|
Swansea University |
|
University of Keele |
|
University of Kent |
|
Queens University of Belfast |
|
Oxford Brookes University |
In addition to this list, the Destinations Team at Ark Central have also compiled an Ark ‘Top 15’ and Ark ‘Top Third’ to support the guidance we give to students on university quality.
Ark Top Third (to be reviewed in 2026/27)
|
Cambridge |
Warwick |
Newcastle |
UEA |
|
Imperial |
Bristol |
York |
Sussex |
|
Oxford |
KCL |
Sheffield |
City, London |
|
St Andrews |
Exeter |
Cardiff |
Reading |
|
LSE |
Aberdeen |
Southampton |
Leicester |
|
Durham |
Birmingham |
Queen's, Belfast |
Royal Holloway |
|
Bath |
Manchester |
Liverpool |
Keele |
|
UCL |
Loughborough |
Surrey |
Oxford Brookes |
|
Glasgow |
Leeds |
QMUL |
Kent |
|
Edinburgh |
Nottingham |
Aston |
Northumbria |
|
St George's, London |
Lancaster |
Swansea |
Ark Top 15 (to be reviewed in 2026/27)
|
Oxford |
Cambridge |
Imperial |
|
St Andrews |
LSE |
Durham |
|
Bath |
Bristol |
UCL |
|
Edinburgh |
Warwick |
Manchester |
|
Glasgow |
Exeter |
KCL |
At KSA we use our ‘Selective, Highly Selective and Super Selective’ and ‘Ark Top 15 and Top Third’ lists to support students in making informed and strategic decisions on university that allow them to access top institutions.
High Quality Apprenticeships
We support and encourage our students to apply for high quality apprenticeships which will support them into being successful in their chosen career. Over the past few years, we have been consistent in placing a group of Sixth Form students (typically 5-10% of the cohort) in competitive apprenticeships.
As the range of options for apprenticeships develops, we are increasingly aware of the demand for apprenticeships that exists from students. We work with students from primary upwards to ensure that they are aware of the potential of apprenticeships as an alternative destination to traditional university study. We also work with parents to improve their understanding of the apprenticeship route. From Yr10 onwards we talk about apprenticeship pathways in detail at parent information events and hold information mornings during Careers Week and also open up Careers Fair to parents.