Former Xaverian student, Leah Cooney from Stockport, chose to take the Apprenticeship route following sixth form to start her career early rather than taking the university route, and is now following a sought-after degree apprenticeship with a global consultancy company.
Class of 2024 student and former pupil of Altrincham Girls’ School, Leah gained a degree apprenticeship with IT and business consulting company, CGI. After gaining A Levels in Computer Science, Geography and Mathematics at Xaverian, Leah knew she wanted to study A Levels but in a sixth form college rather than staying on at school. Commenting on why she chose the College, Leah said: “After attending the Open Day at Xaverian, I was really impressed with how passionate the teachers and students were about their subject, and thought it would be the perfect environment for me to learn in.
“I absolutely loved all my subjects but if I had to choose one, I would have to say Geography, as the whole course was so interesting and I really enjoyed the work and the lessons. There are a lot of transferable skills I have gained from Geography that have helped me get to where I am today and complement the skills I developed from my other subjects.
“My most memorable experience was going to Spain on a geography trip, I had such a good time and had the opportunity to physically see things that we were learning about, which especially helped when it came to the exams, as I had lots of knowledge and case studies to take away from it.”
Leah is now settled into her degree apprenticeship and is employed as a software engineer working as part of a team that maintains a website for a large UK client, fixing any issues that come up and amending features to make the site more accessible. She also attends meetings with her team to discuss what actions have been completed, what issues have arisen and what future actions the team will take.
Leah is studying a Degree in Digital and Technology Solutions (Software Engineer) at Manchester Metropolitan University one day each week when she is not working at the company. Leah said: ”I am really enjoying it and what I am doing in my role now will really support what I will be learning in my degree over the next few years. Once I finish my degree apprenticeship, I will continue my job as a software engineer at CGI and eventually hope to go into geospatial engineering, or the monitoring of the built and natural environment, which will combine my passion for geography with my experience in software engineering.
“I am really looking forward to my future with CGI as they are so supportive and I am excited to see how they can shape my career. I am so glad I have chosen to do a degree apprenticeship, as I get to experience university life without the debt, earn a wage, and gain real-world experience.”