Alumni Spotlight: Psychology Careers Fortnight

We were delighted to welcome back three former Presdales students during our Psychology Careers Spotlight Fortnight in April. Our guest speakers provided an invaluable “behind-the-scenes” look at the diverse, challenging, and rewarding paths a degree in Psychology can offer.

⚖️ Forensic Psychology: Inside the Secure Ward

Charlie Head shared a fascinating insight into the world of Forensic Psychology. Charlie currently works within a medium-secure ward at a forensic psychiatric hospital, a role that sits at the intersection of mental health and the justice system.

She spoke candidly about the unique environment of a secure hospital, detailing the day-to-day responsibilities of conducting risk assessments and delivering rehabilitative interventions. While highlighting the complexities and psychological resilience required for the role, Charlie emphasized the great sense of purpose that comes from supporting patients on their journey toward recovery and reintegration.

🗣️ Beyond the Clinic: Speech and Language Therapy

Claudia Holmes demonstrated how a foundation in Psychology can lead to specialized clinical pathways. Her journey led her into Speech and Language Therapy (SLT), where she now works across a variety of educational contexts.

Claudia discussed her work with children of all ages, helping them navigate communication barriers that impact their learning and social development. Her talk highlighted the versatility of a psychology background, showing how an understanding of human development and cognition is essential for supporting students with diverse needs in a school setting. She also emphasised the importance of learning about research methods in Psychology A level and how it has threaded through all elements of her study and work so far.

🏫 Resilience and Ambition: The Path to Educational Psychology

In a deeply inspiring session, Izzy Bregazzi spoke about the power of persistence. Izzy shared that while her A-level results weren’t what she had initially hoped for, her determination never wavered. After completing her undergraduate and Master’s degrees, she secured one of only 14 places at University College London (UCL)—beating out a pool of over 500 applicants—to qualify as an Educational Psychologist.

Now in her first year as a fully-fledged “Ed Psych,” Izzy provided a “warts and all” perspective on the profession. She balanced the immense joy of helping children thrive with the realistic demands of the role, including the high volume of case write-ups and administrative duties that ensure every child receives the support they deserve.

These talks have been a brilliant reminder to our current students that a career path is rarely a straight line. Whether it’s the high-stakes environment of a forensic ward or the specialized support in a classroom, our alumni are proof that with resilience and passion, the study of Psychology at Presdales can take you anywhere!

Here are some comments from Year 12 students who attended the talks:

I found the presentation very helpful and engaging as it gave a clear idea of how you can enter a career based around educational psychology. It was also nice to see how even if you don’t know where your career is headed post 16, you can still do volunteering and work experience to support your career in the future.

Abigail Cresswell

I learnt about different careers in psychology in detail and what the differences are between them. This was really useful as it gave me a real insight as to what area of psychology I may like to go into in the future. In addition, I really enjoyed listening to them talk about their work and how they have gotten to where they are today. Thank you so much for putting these talks on!

Sophie Thomas