Four key lessons from the Unifrog Teacher and Advisor Conference

This year, we took our annual Teacher and Advisor Conference on the road, hosting the event in Leeds and then London to connect with even more schools and colleges across the country.

We were delighted to welcome 326 teachers and advisors, along with 43 universities and 39 employers, for two days of networking and sharing best practice.

Here are four key lessons from the experts:

Lesson #1: Parents and caregivers are the most trusted source of advice for teens when it comes to their futures

We kicked off the conference with data insights based on Unifrog’s platform usage of 1.7 million Unifrog students, including 11,000 respondents to a recent survey.

From these insights, we’ve learned that 65% of students would go to their parent or caregiver first for advice about their future. By giving parents and caregivers their own Unifrog accounts, we can easily share up-to-date resources and unbiased information with them, so families can better support their children’s decisions. We also support schools and colleges to empower parents and caregivers in their communities with our parent newsletter and other resources.

Lesson #2: University applications received earlier in the cycle tend to be better quality, and can get a quicker decision

Experts from Leeds Trinity University, Loughborough University, University of Edinburgh, University of Bedfordshire, and London South Bank University all shared expert tips for the 2025 admissions cycle.

Emma Turner-Lindley, Head of Admissions at Leeds Trinity University, observed the trend of students leaving their applications closer to the deadline. The later they leave it, the harder it can be to begin. Encourage students to start preparing earlier in the cycle; an early submission could lead to a quicker decision depending on the workload of admissions staff.

Lesson #3: Embed Unifrog in younger years by encouraging students to get creative

Who better to show us how to make the most out of Unifrog than careers leaders at our partner schools and colleges! We’re so grateful to Helen Suffolk-Adams (Archway Learning Trust), Steph Towns (Whitley Bay High School), Trudy Sinacore (John Colet School), and Denise Mannings (Queens' School Bushey). Together, they shared their expertise and practical advice on using Unifrog’s Placements tool to facilitate work experience, supporting a careers team as a central MAT contact, and effectively engaging the whole school to use Unifrog.

One of our favourite tips was from Denise Manning, Careers Lead at Queens' School Bushey, who created buy-in from students by getting them to design their school’s career programme tagline and branding, then displaying the winning design all around school, ultimately leading to an increase in student engagement.

Lesson #4: Potential is more important than relevant experience when it comes to applying for apprenticeships

With the rising popularity of apprenticeships, we hosted a panel discussion with recruitment staff and current apprentices from the British Army, Mazars, and Unilever to showcase opportunities in a wide range of sectors at different levels.

Col Craig Terblanche from the British Army and Jennifer Brown, Future Careers Specialist at Unilever, shared practical tips on how students can showcase their potential and transferable skills in applications, which recruiters value above someone who can already do the job. The panel also discussed how apprenticeships are widely undervalued, and can propel young people into successful careers just as well, if not better, than some university degrees.

Overall, 98% of attendees found the day useful and 99% would attend another Unifrog conference. We’ll be organising more conferences and CPD events in the upcoming academic year, so keep an eye on the Events page and make sure you’re subscribed to the Unifrog Gazette newsletter to be the first to know!