You’ll finish your statutory education at the end of Year 11, but it shouldn’t mean the end of learning! There are lots of ways to carry on learning through education or work – it’s a great way to get your career off to a flying start!
The September Guarantee means that all 16 and 17 year olds have an offer of an appropriate post-16 course, your Personal Adviser will be able to give you information and advice on the options.
Here's what you can do at 16?
- stay in education at school or college
- go into work-based learning and employment
You might also go into a job without training; in this case ask your Personal Adviser about getting some training.
| Here is what happened to 2010 Year 11 school leavers in Tameside: | |
|---|---|
| Full time education | 84% |
| Full time training | 3% |
| Full time employment – Apprenticeships and NVQ2 | 4% |
| Jobs with locally recognised or no training | 2% |
| Voluntary & part time activities | 1% |
| Not in education, employment or training | 5% |
| Others | 1% |
Over 94% of Tameside youngsters were doing something that gave them the chance to get recognised qualifications, through further study or training. Here’s what you can consider doing
Stay in education
There are plenty of colleges or school sixth forms to choose from locally! What you’ll do there will depend on the qualifications you get in Year 11, it could include:
- Advanced Subsidiary (AS) leading to A Levels
- BTEC or similar qualifications
- A Diploma at Advanced Level
- International Baccalaureate
- GCSEs – usually this means re-sitting essential subjects like English or maths where you just missed getting a grade "C".
It’s possible to mix and match what you do by taking some subjects you might have studied previously at GCSE with new ones such as law, economics or philosophy.
To make sure you get it right you’ll need to:
- Visit the places that interest you to check out their courses School and Colleges Open Days tells you about open days
- Use the My Course My Future on-line prospectus
- Talk to your Personal Adviser.
Go for Learning at work
This includes:
- Apprenticeships where you’ll have the chance to train for a NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) in a particular job and learn key skills and
- Any job where the company offers training that leads to recognised qualifications like NVQs.
Jobs without training
This isn’t a good choice, though at 16 it might appear different, especially if the pay’s good. Without training you might find your chances of getting on more difficult, ask your Personal Adviser about getting some training.
You can use the library in your Connexions Centre too as it has information for you to read or take away. Visit Education weblinx for more useful websites.