Helping Young People Plan for Their Futures Comes Earlier Than You Think
For many families, especially those navigating international systems, one of the biggest questions in secondary school is simple: What comes next?
Subject choices arrive earlier than ever. University systems vary from country to country. Scholarship processes can feel competitive and complex. And for globally mobile families, decisions often span multiple continents.
Support For Futures Planning
At Arbor School Dubai, futures planning is not treated as a final-year service. It is a structured, long-term programme designed to help students understand themselves before making high-stakes academic decisions.
Arbor’s Futures Counselling Programme begins in Year 9 and continues through Sixth Form. Rather than focusing solely on university applications, it helps students build self-awareness, confidence and decision-making skills over time.
Students take part in one-to-one guidance sessions, structured workshops, psychometric profiling, career exploration and reflective activities. As they move through Key Stage 4 and into Sixth Form, support becomes more targeted, covering GCSE and post-16 choices, international university systems, scholarship applications and personal statement development.
Parents are also involved throughout, with regular information sessions designed to make complex global pathways clearer and more manageable.
Real-World Experience
A distinctive part of Arbor’s approach is workplace exposure. Every Year 12 student completes a professional work placement aligned with their interests, across sectors such as engineering, sustainability, healthcare, business, hospitality and the creative industries.
These placements allow students to test assumptions, understand professional expectations and connect academic learning to real-world application. For some, internships confirm a direction. For others, they provide valuable clarity before committing to a university course.
Outcomes That Reflect Success
Arbor’s first graduating cohort has secured more than 160 university offers and over USD $6.6 million in scholarship funding to date, across the UK, US, Europe, Asia, Canada and the UAE.
But the school views success as more than destinations. Through the process, students develop independence, professional communication skills and the ability to navigate complex international systems with confidence.
Ready for What Comes Next
In an increasingly global landscape, young people need more than qualifications. They need the confidence to make informed choices and the resilience to adapt as plans change.
At Arbor School Dubai, futures counselling is about helping students leave school not just with offers in hand, but with a clear understanding of who they are and where they want to go next.
For more information, visit www.thearborschool.ae
