This section is full of information about your choices in education and learning, ranging from how qualifications have changed, further and higher education, local provision, apprenticeships and other avenues you may be considering.
Your Choices at 16
You need to stay in education or training after you’re 16, but how you do this is up to you. Further Education includes any study after secondary education that is not part of higher education (i.e. is not studied as part of an undergraduate or graduate degree). Courses range from GCSEs to Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) and now include T Levels, visit the government website for more information on T Levels.
There are lots of choices and you need to pick the one that will help you get the future you want.
If you have a career sector or path in mind and want to start earning money as you learn, an apprenticeship could be for you. You’ll do a real job for a real employer; training on the job and working towards an industry-standard qualification.
An apprenticeship combines hands-on work with the opportunity to train and obtain qualifications. Apprenticeships, which must last for a minimum of 12 months are open to anyone aged 16 and over who is not in full-time education, there is no upper aged limit!
As an apprentice you’ll be employed and will study for a qualification with the full support and commitment of your employer, at least 20% of your working hours are set aside for learning, often at a college, university or training provider, however there are lots of ways to undertake learning depending on your organisation and job role.
Visit our apprenticeship page for more information.
Additional information on Apprenticeships can be found on the UCAS website and the Amazing Apprenticeships websites
People are encouraged to find and apply for apprentices using the Find and Apprenticeship Service
Colleges are often larger and more informal than sixth forms, and they offer a wider variety of courses including apprenticeships, but they will expect you to be able to manage your own work and time effectively.
You need to find a school or college that offers the courses or subjects you are interested in studying, or the best route to the career you are interested in. If you have specialist educational needs or other support needs, you will need to talk to your chosen provider to ensure they can support your needs.
There are 2 colleges within Wiltshire and a 6th form college. These are:
In Swindon 2 Colleges have merged and are now;
- New College Swindon
- Swindon and Wiltshire Institute of Technology
The IoT is a high quality employer-led training facility delivering high level technical and digital skills training for young people and to those already in employment. The IoT specialises in delivering higher technical education, providing students with a clear route to technical employment, and employers with a skilled workforce.
For more information on other further education courses visit www.gov.uk/further-education-courses
The term ‘Sixth Form’ describes the school years numbered 12 and 13. Lots of schools have sixth forms and you can stay at your current school or move to a new one. Sixth forms tend to be smaller and can offer more teaching structure and student support than colleges.
Wiltshire has 21 schools with sixth forms which are able to provide education for 16-18 year olds in years 12 and 13. The provision offered will depend on the Sixth Form.
Andover
Bradford on Avon
Calne
Chippenham
Corsham
Devizes
Malmesbury
Marlborough
Melksham
Salisbury
Royal Wootton Bassett
Trowbridge
Warminster
Westbury
A traineeship is a skills development programme that includes a work placement. It can last from 6 weeks up to 1 year, though most traineeships last for less than 6 months.
Traineeships allow you to learn employability skills, improve your maths and English qualifications if you need to, as well as getting some valuable work experience.
The work placement can last for as little as 5 weeks or last up to 5 months depending on your needs. You may have several work placements with different employers, or one placement with a single employer. You will not get paid but you are entitled to travel expenses to and from your work placement and if you are claiming Universal Credit then this will not be affected.
You will receive:
- meaningful feedback on your performance from the employer
- confirmation of completing a Traineeship
- confirmation of your qualifications
- a reference from the employer
You will also receive a guaranteed interview by the employer either for an actual job or apprenticeship (if one is available), or an exit interview to support you in your next steps.
For more information on traineeships or to apply for one, visit the find a traineeship website https://www.gov.uk/find-traineeship.
UTCs are technical academies for 14- to 19-year-olds. They have university and employer sponsors and combine practical and academic studies. UTCs specialise in subjects that need modern, technical, industry-standard equipment – such as engineering and construction and science – which are taught alongside business skills and the use of ICT.
There is a UTC in Swindon
If you want to work as a volunteer, this will need to be for more than 20 hours a week and you will also need to combine this with part-time study or training.
For more information on volunteering click on the Earn button.
You may prefer to find full time employment (this needs to be for more than 20 hours a week to be counted as full time) and combine this with part-time study or training. You could work towards a nationally recognised qualification as well as being employed, self-employed or volunteering.
For more information on finding employment click on the Earn button.
Results Day 2022
Results Day 2022 will happen over two days, A-Level results on Thursday 18th August and GCSE results on Thursday 25th August.
We have information to help you on results day and the options available to you on the link below.
16+ Choices: Department for Education resources
The Department for Education has put together a couple of simple and handy guides to inform young people about all of the post-16 options open to them.
Here you will find:
- A route comparison grid which shows all of the routes available after GCSEs, along with additional information on each route such as the level of study, entry requirements, duration of the course, where it can lead etc.
- Explore your choices whether you know where you’re headed in the future or not, knowing the work and study choices available to you is a great place to start, visit the Gov website to explore all options.
Local programmes for young people
There are lots of free courses and opportunities on offer with organisations across the county that will support you into education, employment and training. These range from courses like Get Ahead which helps you to progress to education, employment an apprenticeship or traineeship with incentives to providers offering mentoring support.
A directory of this provision is located below.
Higher Education
Higher Education refers to qualifications beyond level 3 (A level) and provision can be accessed in a number of ways;
- Higher Education Institution (University) which offer a wider range of undergraduate and post graduate qualifications usually but not always on full time courses
- Further Education College which offer qualifications from level 4-7 often in partnership with universities. They often offer more part time programmes and include Access to Higher Education courses intended for adults without level 3 qualifications to enable them to enter a degree or higher level qualifications
- In the workplace through in-house or training provider led training programmes for professional qualifications, or in the workplace through higher and degree apprenticeships delivered by training providers and universities
- Distance learning via courses such as the Open University or Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs).
There is more information and some useful videos on the benefits of Higher Education on the WIN website.
Wiltshire College and University Centre offers a variety of degree level apprenticeships.
A growing number of employers in the Swindon and Wiltshire area are offering higher and degree level apprenticeships in partnership with universities and training providers.
Where to study and courses
There are a huge variety of courses that you can study at Higher Education and choosing which one can be difficult. Have a look at what interests you and what qualifications you might need in the future.
Visit University Compare to see what Higher Education settings are in your area or use the UCAS search tool to see what Universities offer the course you would like. UCAS’s ‘what to study’ page also has more advice and information.
Some Higher Education courses can be studied online or studied in flexible ways; therefore it is worth checking if your course offers distance learning; UCAS has more information on their distance learning and part time study page. Alternatively you could study at the Open University which is an online University and most courses have no formal entry requirements.
If you are not sure if university is for you, why not check out Not Going To Uni and see what alternatives there are.
UCAS
UCAS is an independent charity providing information, advice and admissions services to inspire and facilitate educational progression. UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for entry to Higher Education. UCAS services support young people making choices after their GCSEs, as well as those applying for undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
Visit the UCAS page to :
- Visit the ‘what to study‘ page for more advice and information
- See what universities offer the course you would like
- See what courses offer distance learning
- See what Higher Level and Degree Level Apprenticeships are available in the area