Post 16 Options

• A Levels – Level 3 qualifications which use exam based assessments. Students choose 3 or 4 subjects to study at this level.
• International Baccalaureate – Level 3 internationally recognised qualification with core modules and elective modules.
• BTEC – Level 1, 2 or 3 qualifications which are assessed through a portfolio of work and terminal exam. Are BTEC’s right for you?  Click here to find out more.
• Apprenticeship – Intermediate (Level 2); Advanced (Level 3); or Higher (Level 4 and above). Usually, paid employment for four or five days per week and study towards a qualification through flexible or online learning.   A good start for research is: notgoingtouni.co.uk
• Traineeship – A scheme which helps young people gain work skills before they move onto an apprenticeship or a job.
• Work with training – Working for an employer, and the employer must allow you time to be able to study an accredited course (this can be flexible e.g. evenings, weekends, distance learning) for a minimum of 280 hours per calendar year.

Searching & Applying for courses

To help you search for local colleges, you can use:

National Careers Service Course Directory

UCAS Progress which has simple search tools for the region you want to search. You can set up an account, and use your account to apply to several 6th forms at a time.

For a specialist Further Education College, Natspec has a directory of courses for students with learning difficulties or disabilities.