IT’S National T Levels Celebration Week and, to mark the start of this national campaign, Warrington & Vale Royal College have announced the launch of eight new T Levels for September 2024.
T Levels were launched across England in September 2020 as the new gold standard of technical education which offers a high-quality alternative to the “traditional” A Level route. These two-year, post-GCSE courses are practical and knowledge-based, with students spending 80% of their time in the classroom and 20% of their time gaining on-the-job experience with an employer, related to their T Level specialism. Their final qualification is equivalent to 3 A Levels and can hold up to 168 UCAS points, enabling students to go onto a huge range of impressive destinations, including higher education, apprenticeships, or straight into skilled employment. As a college with over forty years of experience in delivering technical training, it is no surprise that Warrington & Vale Royal College would quickly become one of the leading colleges in the region to support these industry-led qualifications.
Warrington & Vale Royal College currently offers T Levels in health, early years, and construction trades including brickwork, electrical, plumbing, and carpentry & joinery. This is set to expand for students enrolling in 2024 to include exciting new pathways in motor vehicle, engineering & manufacturing, surveying & planning, digital, science, healthcare science, accounting, and business. Students who wish to progress from GCSE onto one of these highly coveted courses should aim for a minimum of 5 GCSEs at grade 4 or above including English, maths & science, although entry requirements can differ depending on which pathway they choose to pursue.
As part of the expansion of their T Level course offer, the college will also run six new T Level foundation years, which will bridge the gap between GCSEs and T Levels for those who do not quite achieve the minimum grades required to go straight onto a T Level after school. These engaging year-long courses provide the fundamental knowledge and practical skills to prepare students for success in both their future T Level and the workplace while helping them to develop English, maths, and digital skills within an industry-relevant context. T Levels are becoming an ever-more sought-after qualification by students and employers alike, making the introduction of the foundation year programmes essential to make T Levels as widely accessible as possible, further demonstrating the college’s commitment to supporting all students to land their first-choice career.
Director of Curriculum & Quality Ben Brady looks forward to the launch of the new T Levels, saying: “Given how enthusiastically our students have taken to their T Level courses this year, as well as the college’s dedication to staying at the cutting-edge of technical education, it is only natural that the college expands its T Level offer to encompass more of the UKs most in-demand sectors and give more young people access to the courses. We hope to see plenty more of the North West’s talented students embarking on one of these valuable qualifications with Warrington & Vale Royal College in the next few years.”
Recently, the college has seen major investment in four Centres of Technical Excellence, including an Advanced Creative & Digital Skills Academy, Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Academy, Construction & Civil Engineering Academy, and Health & Social Care Academy at its Warrington campus. Current T Level students at the college are thriving on their courses, benefitting from access to these multi-million-pound facilities that house state-of-the-art classrooms, workshops, and simulation work environments to enhance their T Level experience. These academies also collaborate with hundreds of national and local employers, giving students access to an impressively broad range of industry placement opportunities to complete their qualification, making Warrington & Vale Royal College a highly desirable T Level provider. Supporting access to local training for the students of Cheshire, in 2024, the college is also set to launch a brand-new Institute of Technology (IoT) at its Winsford campus which will offer specialist courses in the areas of health and science, and house industry-standard laboratories and medical training equipment.
Find out more about Warrington & Vale Royal College’s range of T Levels, technical courses and apprenticeships at their upcoming Year 11 Open Evening on Tuesday 10th October 2023. Visit wvr.ac.uk/openevenings to register your attendance today.
