Teen spirit and a career: alternatives to study are firmly on the curriculum

A first look at life after the classroom can seem daunting for most 16-year-olds, but help is at hand,

- Julie Henry

CAREERS education left Abigail Obisesan with the impression that choosing anything other than a traditional degree would mean being "broke and living off your parents".

"At 16, we just did not get to explore the spectrum of things that you could do," she says. "We weren't exposed to things." It was pure luck that the teenager heard about the London Screen Academy, a state sixth form in north London which trains young people for behindthe-camera roles in film and TV. After a course in film production, the 19-yearold is working as a camera trainee on the hit BBC series Call the Midwife, as part of a Prime workshop. Video-funded training Keira Todd had a similar experience.

For her, careers education at school was "no way enough" and too focused on A-levels and going to university. At 17, Keira secured off her own bat an apprenticeship at the Allegis Group.