Shrewsbury School girl opts for KPMG School Leavers Programme

It is very rare that a highly-academic student at an independent school decides not to go to university – especially when you have excellent offers on the table. But an 18-year-old from Shrewsbury School is one of a growing number of youngsters who opt to hit their dream career path without going through the regular route of higher education.

Megan Cherrington, an upper sixth-form student of French, maths and further maths at Shrewsbury School, has been accepted onto a School Leavers Programme, which is run by one of the world’s biggest companies, KPMG. Megan has four offers from top Russell Group universities but believes that the opportunity to work and train for a qualification while at KPMG is far more appealing.

The application process was over five stages and took Megan a vast three months to complete. The first stage was a complex application form, which was then followed by a situational judgement test. The third stage was another test – this time on online numerical and verbal reasoning. The last two stages included interviews; firstly a 45-minute selective interview with KPMG followed by a senior partner interview at the firm, where she had to complete a written exercise and make a presentation to be accepted onto the programme. Delighted Megan was successful in all aspects of the process and found out about being accepted on the scheme while out celebrating her father’s birthday.

KPMG offer candidates on their School Leavers Programme a competitive starting salary in various UK cities, as well as training, a university degree and professional qualifications gained throughout the six-year scheme. This allows successful candidates, such as Megan, a great combination of work and education as soon as they finish their A-levels. Megan said: “I am very excited about starting a new career path with something a little different from taking the normal route to university!" Kait Weston, a teacher and Megan’s housemistress at Shrewsbury School, has already asked her to come back in the future to talk to the sixth form about the benefits of school leaver schemes. Megan will remain at the school until she finishes her final exams and will start at KPMG later this year.

Paul Wilcock, Schools and Higher Education Consultant at Gabbitas, said: “An increasing number of students are looking at alternatives to university and these types of programmes are certainly growing in popularity although they do need to be thoroughly researched. The option of earning whilst training for a recognised qualification with a first-class employer is understandably appealing.”

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