Each year there are nearly 5 million GCSE entries for 16 year olds with learners taking an average of 7-10 GCSEs each (Ofqual, 2021). With the impact of the COVID pandemic increasing exam nerves, headteachers reported that they hadn’t ever seen a year group facing the amount of uncertainty over grades and progression to level 3 study as those who sat their GCSEs in 2022 (Hall, 2022).
It is easy to see how many young people feel overwhelmed when faced with the different options available to them when deciding on their next steps. Making this decision whilst preparing to sit GCSEs can seem like a daunting task. We’ve pulled together some information about the different options with links to some great sources of information for each. For each of these options there will be different entry requirements students will need to satisfy. These will be different for each college/sixth form and for each subject. Please check with local institutions to see what their requirements might be.
All of the below options are acceptable for entry to study a Higher Education (degree level) course at University or College. It is important that everyone thinking of progressing to Higher Education has a look at the entry requirements of the courses they are thinking of studying, these will be different for each university and each course. UCAS is a great resource for checking individual entry requirements and has easy to use search and filtering functions.
If you are not sure what your next steps should be or are supporting a young person who isn’t sure try not to feel overwhelmed, there are some great sources of information out there! You can access these online or contact your local sixth form or FE college. They will be able to tell you when their next open day is and/or book you in for a careers advice appointment.
If you have any questions about your next steps or those of someone you are supporting you can also get in touch with us on social media, we will be happy to point you in the right direction for support and advice.
A Levels
- A levels (or Advanced levels) are usually two years long and are designed for those aged 16+ who would like a deeper knowledge of a study area. Students will usually study 3 or 4 A levels at the same time.
- A levels can be studied at schools with sixth forms and at Further Education (FE) Colleges.
- There are a wide range of subjects to choose from although this is dependant on what the school/college offers so it is important to take this into account when deciding where to study.
- AS level qualifications are also available in most subjects that have an A level. These are one year qualifications and are standalone. Although AS grades used to count towards an over A level grade this is no longer the case and not all schools and colleges offer these.
- Individual A level qualifications offered by a school or college may have separate entry requirements so it is important to check each one.
Need further advice on choosing your A levels? Careerpilot has a great guide to choosing A level subjects here and Which? University have a video that talks through the different things to consider:
T Levels
- These are new qualifications which combine studying at school/sixth form with industry placement providing study and work experience at the same time.
- T levels focus on one main subject and are generally equivalent to three A levels.
- Learners will spend 80% of their time in the classroom and 20% on placement with an employer (minimum of 9 weeks required).
- There are currently 16 subjects available in the areas of business and administration, construction, digital, engineering and manufacturing, education and childcare, health and science and legal, financial and accounting. With more subjects due to be introduced over the next few years.
Hear about the potential benefits of T levels from students currently studying them below and find out which sixth forms and colleges are offering these courses using this handy search tool.
Apprenticeships
- With an apprenticeship you can earn while you learn as they include on the job experience and training alongside qualifications.
- There are over 640 apprenticeships approved for use by employers in England with subjects ranging from space engineering to advertising.
- Apprenticeships are available to people of all ages and you don’t need work experience to apply.
- 91% of apprentices secure employment or go on to education after completing their training. To read about further benefits of studying apprenticeships read The Education Hub’s blog ‘Five reasons why you should consider and apprenticeship’.
- After completing an apprenticeship you can progress to study full time at HE level at university or college or can study a higher apprenticeship/ A higher apprenticeship is similar to level 3 but at degree level.
- Finding an apprenticeship is easy through the gov.uk website and you can filter by subject, geographical area.
Hear about the experience of studying an apprenticeship from someone who chose this route watch this video about Alim’s apprenticeship at Channel 4:
Level 3 Vocational technical qualifications (BTEC and Cambridge Nationals)
- Vocational technical qualifications (VTQs) are generally more practical qualifications and include BTECs (level 1 to level 7) and Cambridge Nationals (level 2 and Level 3) at Level 3.
- Despite some myths around VTQs these are included in entry criteria for university courses.
- There are over 2000 different subjects available including childcare, IT, games design, sport science, engineering, public services and criminology.
- These qualifications are offered at both sixth forms and colleges although colleges usually have a wider range of courses available.
- Some vocational technical qualifications can be studied alongside A levels and others will be equivalent to 3 A levels.
- To find out more about BTECs and which ones might be the best option for you visit Pearson’s site here and take a quiz to find the BTECs that suit you best.
Some benefits of studying BTECs are highlighted by some IT BTEC students below: