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EducationOption Choices in Year 9During Year 9 you will get the chance to make some decisions about which subjects you want to study in years 10 and 11 – this is known as ‘choosing your options’. The types of qualifications you may be able to choose from (depending on your school) include: Entry level qualifications, GSCEs, short GCSEs, NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications), VRQs (Vocationally Related Qualifications), Young Apprenticeships. Before choosing which subjects you want to study and to find out more about jobs an careers linked to particular subjects:
Most schools will give you an options booklet which will list which subjects available but if you want more help or advice, talk to your Personal Adviser. How to choose the right subjectsQuestions that can help:
Questions about the timetable:
Questions about subjects
Further EducationIf you’re in Year 11 and decide that you want to continue onto further education you need to make decisions about where and what you want to study. Where to studyYou can either study at a college (for example, Wigan and Leigh College, St John Rigby College or Winstanley College), a sixth form college or a sixth form attached to a school (for example, The Deanery or St.Mary’s). Pupils from any school may apply to study at any college, sixth form college or school sixth form. This is especially important if you’re thinking of going to a school sixth form as some people think you need to have gone to the school to go to the sixth form – you don’t! Students may also apply to out of area colleges e.g. Runshaw College, St. Helens College. Colleges and sixth forms generally have open evenings where you can go along, look at the college or sixth form and ask any questions you’ve got. Most schools should let you know when college and sixth form open evenings are, but if need more advice please ask your Personal Adviser. Local sixth forms and colleges are: St Mary’s Sixth Form The Deanery Wigan and Leigh College Wigan and Leigh College Winstanley College St John Rigby College What Can You Study?After you leave school, you can choose to study different types of qualifications in a much wider range of subjects. Most qualifications are equivalent (or at the same level in terms of value) as others. If you need more help to work out which qualification best suits you and your future plans, please see your Personal Adviser. Entry Level CoursesYou can get support to build on skills, try out a range of subjects, and then go on to the course you are most interested in at college. Qualifications at entry level are called certificates, with 100 certificates currently available in a wide range of subjects. NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications)NVQs are work related qualifications which are based around the skills and knowledge needed to do a job. NVQs can be studied full time at college but are often done ‘on-the-job’ as part of your job or training. There are 5 NVQ levels – level 1 to 5. The levels are equivalent (or equal) to other qualifications which you may already have. This means that you don’t always have to start at level 1. For example, if you’ve got some GCSEs at grades D-G, you would usually study towards NVQ level 2, if there’s one available in the job area you choose. NVQs at levels 4 and 5 are the equivalent to higher education qualifications and are not generally available to school leavers. You can, however, work your way up to levels 4 and 5 if you’ve got an NVQ at level 3, a BTEC National Diploma, Certificate or Award or A Levels (if the NVQ 4 or 5 is available in your chosen job area). NVQs are assessed through a combination of observation of your work and a portfolio (or file) of evidence you have collected. GCSEs(General Certificate of Secondary Education) & Vocational GCSEsGCSEs are available in 45 subjects. Some of these subjects you may already have studied at school, for example maths and English. If your exam results weren’t as good as you’d like or need for your future job, you may be able to resit them at college or sixth form – you’d need to check this out though as some colleges and sixth forms might not allow you to resit or may only have certain subjects on offer. Sometimes, you might want to take a new GCSE subject at college or sixth form – for example, psychology. Again, you need to check out which subjects are available at which colleges or sixth forms. GCSEs are also available in work-based subjects such as engineering, health and social care – these are known as Vocational GCSEs. Vocational GCSEs are generally the equivalent (or same value) as two GCSEs and allow you to develop practical skills and knowledge in a subject area. You might have already studied a Vocational GCSE/s at school but might want to choose a different subject area when you go to college or sixth form. Check out what’s on offer and at which college or sixth form. BTEC (Awards, Certificates and Diplomas)As GNVQs will no longer be available, many students who want to study a practical work related qualification, may choose to study a BTEC Award, Certificate or Diploma BTECs help students develop work related skills and knowledge and as you can see from the table on page 33, BTEC Awards, Certificates and Diplomas are available at different levels – e.g. entry level, introductory, first, national. You can study a wide range of subjects for example, health and social care, IT and computing, travel and tourism etc. Some colleges or sixth forms may not do BTECs so please check out what’s available where. BTECs are also available at a higher education level and are called HNCs (Higher National Certificates) and HNDs (Higher National Diploma) – usually these are only available when you’re 18 or above and generally you need to have done qualifications at level 3 to get onto them. Professional QualificationsFor example Certificates and Diplomas in Childcare & Education.
Full A levels are made up of 6 units. 3 of these units make up the AS level, the remaining 3 units are known as A2. As well as subjects such as history, English, psychology etc. A levels are now available in ten work related subjects e.g. engineering, health and social care, business – these are known as A levels in applied subjects. If you pass your AS and A levels you can either use them to help you get into university or employment or training. More about the structure of A levels:
This is a qualification in its own right and is usually taken in the first year of college/sixth form (Year 12). Depending on how you get on with your AS level in Year 12, you may choose to continue with some of your AS subjects in the second year of college (year 13) - to make them up to a full A level. You can also start a new AS level in Year 13. AS’s are usually assessed by coursework as well as exams. Most students normally take 4-5 subjects at AS level. Sometimes you don’t need to have studied the subject at GCSE level to study it at AS level. In other cases you may need a minimum of GCSE grade B in a subject if you want to study that subject at AS level. Colleges and sixth forms offer different subjects at AS level, so make sure you check what’s available where.
Students can continue some, or all of their AS level subjects onto year 13 (called A2). A levels are made up of 6 units (3 units of which are studied at AS level in year 12). A2 units don’t count as a qualification in their own right - you must already have studied the subject at AS level to take the A2 units. Assessment is a mixture of exams and coursework (usually coursework makes up about 20-30% of the overall marks).
AEAs have been designed for the most able advanced level students. They should be available to all able students – no matter which college or sixth form you’re studying at. Higher EducationAfter completing further education courses, many students decide to go onto university or college to continue their studies. This is known as higher education. Higher education covers courses such as Degrees, Foundation degrees, Sandwich degrees, Diploma courses (Higher National Diplomas or HNDs and Diplomas of Higher Education of DipHEs) and certain professional courses Most people begin planning their future studies in Year 12 or Year 13 of college or sixth form, the main decisions being where and what to study. Higher education courses are available in a huge range of subjects and can be studied at universities, colleges of higher education and some further education colleges. Some people choose to study a course linked to their future career aims whilst others want to keep their options open. Connexions Personal Adviser can help you find out more about jobs linked to particular subjects and may be able to help you find out what careers previous students of those subjects went into after they completed their course. You can also check out the ‘facts and figures’ on the Prospects website. To find out which university or college offers the course you want to study, you can either check out books such as Degree Course Offers or log on to the UCAS website Almost all applications for higher education courses in the UK are administered and processed through UCAS - the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. Applications are completed online and the website gives step by step instructions as well as advice on other issues such as student finance Your Connexions Personal Adviser can also help you with your UCAS application and can advise you on interviews, student finance, gap year etc. |