For some, that means university, for others, the work place, and for a third group it means the world of apprenticeship, combining the continued educational opportunities of university with the practical skills and remuneration of a regular job. 

Springwood, a member of West Norfolk Academies Trust,  has always encouraged pupils to consider the possibilities opened up by apprenticeship, and in years gone by students have gone on to take up training positions with organisations including the Civil Service, Jaguar Land Rover, British Sugar and Anglian Water. 

The class of 2022 will be sending students off to places as diverse as BAE Systems and Walt Disney, and in the case of Liam Horspole, global accountancy firm BDO. 

He said he was steered onto his next path in Year 12. 

“I was made interested in apprenticeships once I started work in year 12 and realised how much I preferred it to schooling and realised how much better I actually learnt whilst on the job,” he said. 

“The application process was pretty simple at first but as you advanced it became more challenging, and in the final round, I had to work with two other people.” 

Liam found out the news about his new role, which he starts in September, in a phone call when he was at school, and says he was amazed and delighted to have secured it. 

“I will be doing auditing for four years, and after that I’d like to get a few years’ more accounting experience before setting up my own business,” he said. 

“People think accountancy is all about maths, but there’s more to it than that – I would say the most useful thing I’ve picked up at school was economics, because that was a bit bigger picture.”