Courses for 16 to 18-year-olds (old)
COURSES FOR SCHOOL LEAVERS
With hundreds of unique, exciting and inspiring programmes to choose from, everything you need to create your brighter future is waiting for you at Weston College.
From the minute you walk through the door, the experience and the environment that we create is all about maximising your potential. It’s about preparing and motivating you for a fresh and focused career pathway.
Every Weston College student becomes part of one of our exciting new Career Excellence Hubs. This means you will take part in a study programme with lots of career boosting benefits, all with the aim of help you to go further, giving you the opportunity to become career ready with the skills, knowledge and expertise you need to be successful in your next step and reach your ultimate goal - whatever that may be!
Whether you are looking for the next step after school or the next step in your career, we're bound to have a programme for you. Take a look below at the different types of qualifications available for school leavers and young people between 16 and 18 years old.
Did you know we also run English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)?
Start your brighter future by selecting a subject you're interested in below, and don't forget - you can apply online and it only takes 5 minutes!
Discover our range of courses for school leavers aged 16-18 using the search options below...
Select a Course Subject:
Search courses by keyword:
Search by Keyword:
Select a Career:
Scroll down to view our courses
or select a section to jump to:
Scroll down to view our courses
or select a section to jump to:
Find Your Future Path
Qualifications Explained
At Weston College we know that everyone learns differently. That’s why we deliver a variety of different qualification types - to give you the chance to learn in the way that suits you the most.
A Levels
A Levels develop the knowledge, skills and study habits to excel at university, as well as the attributes recognised by employers. Your academic studies will be complemented with enrichment opportunities such as trips, mentoring and work experience, providing the perfect springboard for your future career. A Levels are assessed through exams at the end of two years of study. Most learners study three subjects - some choose four.
Apprenticeships
With an apprenticeship you’ll go straight into the workplace and be shown clear routes to progress straight into employment within a specific occupation. You can achieve nationally recognised qualifications, earn a wage, and gain skills that will see you get ahead. On average you will spend 20% of your learning time in the college and 80% within the workplace..
Professional and Technical Qualifications
Professional and technical qualifications are designed to provide you with the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to gain employment within specific industries or occupations. They provide a balance between theory and practical skills development. They are suited to those who want to get hands-on experience within a particular vocational area. These programmes include work placements. Assessment is more varied and will include exams, coursework and practical work.
Traineeships
Traineeships are a great way for 16 to 24-year-olds who haven’t yet gained the skills and experiences necessary to apply for jobs and apprenticeships. They are taught mostly in the workplace and include a mixture of personal and social development, and employability skills. The aim of a traineeship is to train you within a company so that you are more likely to be offered an apprenticeship or a job.
T Levels give you the chance to learn what a real career is like while you continue your studies. T Levels have been designed with leading businesses and employers to give you the knowledge and skills you need, including a minimum of 45 days on an industry placement – this means you will spend 80% of your learning time in College and 20% within the workplace.
CHOOSING WHAT TO STUDY
We are all about CAREERS NOT COURSES and pride ourselves on being able to offer a huge range of programmes to ensure you develop the skills and knowledge employers and universities are looking for. As the only education provider in North Somerset that enables you to work your way up from an entrylevel programme to a degree, we’re here to help you choose the right programme for you.
We can help you choose your study programme or apprenticeship by accessing the following support:
School Liaison Team
Working with local schools we help you find out about college life and programmes of study, and we provide you with advice and guidance about what programmes will best suit you. We will either visit your school, attend careers fairs and parents’ evenings or coordinate campus and virtual events such as our taster days, holiday workshops and tours.
Events
We put on a number of events over the year, which will be a mixture of face-to-face and virtual events. These provide you and your family with the opportunity to explore our facilities, speak to our lecturers, find out about the support on offer and choose the right programme for you. Our events also give you the opportunity to engage with a number of employers to find out about careers in their industry and why they value the calibre of candidates that come from Weston College.
CAREERS ADVICE
- On our website you can access a wealth of career guidance, such as:
- All the programmes you can study.
- What our alumni have gone on to achieve.
- Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) that will help explain what relevant careers and jobs are available, including salaries.
- NEW – Subject careers roadmaps, so you can map your journey with us and ensure it will get you into your chosen career. Also, check out Career Coach - this provides you with the opportunity to:
- Take an assessment that matches you with careers.
- Explore broad career pathways that match your strengths and interests.
- Compare careers within a pathway - including salaries, required education and more.
- Explore our programmes that will set you on the path to your desired career.
- Take a career assessment - and receive an in-depth report that can help you identify the best programme and career path for you!
We’re here and happy to help – if you would like more advice and guidance, contact our school liaison team by emailing schoolteam@weston.ac.uk. - they you can arrange a one-to-one careers appointment with our specialist staff.
LATEST NEWS
<drupal-entity alt=""Computing student Mircea smiling into camera in front of a hedge competing for workdskills competition in weston super mare"" data-align="right" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{"image_style":"max_650x650","image_link":""}" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d6c386f5-2190-49c2-b4e4-5cf0edb9b4af" data-langcode="en"></drupal-entity>
<p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">On 11th and 12th of November 2021, <a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/compu… 3 Computing</a> learner Mircea Ionescu will be competing in the grand finals of the prestigious WorldSkills national competition!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.worldskillsuk.org/">WorldSkills UK</a> is a biannual ‘skills olympics’ that supports young people by testing their ability to achieve world-class standards. This national event normally takes place in the Birmingham NEC, however this year the 64 different competition areas are being hosted separately at across the country.</p>
<p>Mircea is one of nine students across the country to have made it to the finals in Web Design, which will be hosted by Weston College at <a href="https://www.westonwintergardens.co.uk/">The Winter Gardens Pavilion in Weston-super-Mare.</a></p>
<p>We caught up with the Nailsea School alumni who added:</p>
<h3><em>"I first heard about World Skills from my Website Development Lecturer in my first year, who encouraged me to take part in it.</em></h3>
<h3><em>"In order to get selected for the World Skills finals, I had to design a professional looking website during the qualification stage of the competition. Then during the semi-finals I had to complete the full front-end development of a website testing my skills in HTML and CSS production.</em></h3>
<h3><em>"I am very excited to have been chosen to compete in the World Skills finals, I also feel a great deal of pride in the recognition of the hard work of both my lecturers and I. </em></h3>
<h3><em>"Weston College has played a very important role in my journey to the World Skills finals, all the skills I have learnt during my time here are being tested during this competition. My tutor, Jason Hill, has helped me to get ready for this with great coaching and competition preparation.</em></h3>
<h3><em>"I have learnt so much already during my time with the World Skills contest. I understand how to work under the pressure of time constraints better than ever and I have vastly expanded my knowledge of development languages such as PHP and Javascript."</em></h3>
<p>This exciting news is just one of the fantastic career enhancing opportunities available at the college, through the newly launched <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwesto… Excellence Hubs.</a> </p>
<p>At the College each subject area forms its own specific Career Excellence Hub, endorsed by relevant sector employers which help to create a study programme with lots of career boosting benefits, WorldSkills competing opportunities is one of these.</p>
<p>Mircea will also be joined in the finals by <a href="https://www.ucw.ac.uk">University Centre Weston (UCW)</a> student <a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/news/computing-star-jack-heading-worldskills-f… Kimmins.</a></p>
<p>After finishing his Level 3 course, Mircea plans on staying with the team at Weston to study the <a href="https://www.ucw.ac.uk/courses/applied-computing-bsc-hons/">BSc Applied Computing degree course at UCW</a>.</p>
<p>The winners of all WorkdSkills competitions will be crowned at a ceremony hosted by TV presenter Steph McGovern from her Packed Lunch studio on Friday 26 November.</p>
<p>We'd like to wish Mircea the very best of luck! </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/compu… here to learn more about our Computing courses and Career Excellence hubs</a></p>
<p paraeid="{146ba0e2-5145-4695-bf57-4dfaed7eaabd}{170}" paraid="772252399">A character design done by our very own <a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/creat… and Animation</a> learner Jack Griffiths, has been selected to be turned into an official character skin in Fortnite! <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/home">Fortnite</a> is a free-to-play video game the sees up to 100 players competing individually or in teams to be the last one/ones standing as the boundaries of their battle ground shrinks over-time. <br />
<br />
The multi-billion pound Battle Royale currently has over 350 million active monthly users across the world, making it biggest games on the planet. <br />
<br />
In June, Fortnite developer <a href="https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/">Epic Games</a> published that they are "looking for two exceptional community-created concepts" to be turned into in-game outfits for their to-be-announced Winter 2021 event. <br />
<br />
The brief was simple: festive, frosty, and fun designs to bundle up in this holiday season. <br />
<br />
As a player and aspiring 3D animator Weston College student, Jack, saw this as a perfect opportunity to showcase his talents in character design that he had been developing in and out of class.... And so the character concept was created: <a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lxg5la">Frigid Forgoer</a>. <br />
</p>
<drupal-entity alt=""frigid forgoer fortnite skin"" data-align="right" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{"image_style":"max_500x500","image_link":""}" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="4d88500b-a2a4-4211-bb5c-6ffe8c69e4cb" data-langcode="en"></drupal-entity>
<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_S2F64kVyRs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p> <br />
Jack, with the online artist alias <a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lxg5la">"Alta Calls"</a>, added: "I decided to apply for the competition because I had been working on concept skins for around a year at that point, it's one of my biggest passions and seeing Epic go out of their way to support the concept community by hosting a competition was amazing I figured this was my best chance of getting a skin in game so I jumped right into it and started designing! </p>
<p paraeid="{146ba0e2-5145-4695-bf57-4dfaed7eaabd}{202}" paraid="153908598">“Frigid Forgoer is a twist of the frozen theme, with something a bit more unique and visually interesting; A frozen sheriff with a vengeance.<br />
<br />
"This win means practically everything to me, I worked so hard over the last year getting better at Blender and getting better at general character design and to finally see one get in game is incredible. I have received great support from the college, using the knowledge from my course to actually pull through and create the skin trailer which I was so close on giving up on. Without the teaching in class, it would not of been possible."<br />
<br />
Jack studies The <a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/art-a… 3 diploma in Game and Animation</a>. On this course our learners learn and develop their skills in storyboarding, character design, 2D design and 3D animation; becoming equipped to step into the ever-growing gaming industry.</p>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p paraeid="{146ba0e2-5145-4695-bf57-4dfaed7eaabd}{228}" paraid="250093782">The King Alfred School alumni continued: “I chose the game and animation course because it's my biggest passion in life. I've played games my whole life and when I grew older I started to love how games are able to tell such emotional and compelling stories and be such amazing pieces of art that I just had to make it my career.”<br />
<br />
Game and Animation tutor, Sam Stokes, commented: "It’s amazing to see Jack’s hard work pay of, the constant drive and motivation to keep pushing his skills to the next level is remarkable. <br />
<br />
"It fills me with pride that our Game and Animation Production course has given him the platform to challenge his skills and achieve recognition on a globally renowned game like Fortnite."<br />
<br />
<br />
The two winners of the "Concept Royale" competition were announced via Fortnite's social media pages, their tweet can be found below: </p>
<p paraeid="{146ba0e2-5145-4695-bf57-4dfaed7eaabd}{228}" paraid="250093782"> </p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/lbdart_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lbdart_</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AltaCalls?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AltaCalls</a>, our Concept Royale winners ?<br />
<br />
We can’t wait to see their concepts turned into in-game Outfits this Winter.<br />
<br />
And a big thank you to everyone who shared their chilly creations with us. We are always in awe of your creativity ? <a href="https://t.co/QVTCh2WvRw">pic.twitter.com/QVTCh2WvRw</a></p>
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) <a href="https://twitter.com/FortniteGame/status/1428356145354211328?ref_src=tws… 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p paraeid="{146ba0e2-5145-4695-bf57-4dfaed7eaabd}{228}" paraid="250093782"><br />
<br />
As well as both outfits making their official debut to the game this December, the two winners each won a £1,000 cash prize. </p>
<p paraeid="{52978fd6-6756-4802-9035-1d5671eb114a}{7}" paraid="1582794661">Jack is aiming to be a 3D marketing artist or character designer and this is in incredible accolade that will no doubt open many doors in the future. A HUGE congratulations goes to Jack. A very brighter future awaits! </p>
<p paraeid="{52978fd6-6756-4802-9035-1d5671eb114a}{7}" paraid="1582794661"> </p>
<p paraeid="{52978fd6-6756-4802-9035-1d5671eb114a}{7}" paraid="1582794661"><strong><a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lxg5la">Click here to see more on Frigid Forgoer and more of Jack's amazing work</a></strong></p>
<p paraeid="{52978fd6-6756-4802-9035-1d5671eb114a}{7}" paraid="1582794661"><strong><a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/media… here to learn more about our courses in Game and Animation</a></strong></p>
<p paraeid="{52978fd6-6756-4802-9035-1d5671eb114a}{7}" paraid="1582794661"><strong><a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/openevening">Click here to sign up for our next open evening</a></strong></p>
<p paraeid="{52978fd6-6756-4802-9035-1d5671eb114a}{7}" paraid="1582794661"> </p>
<p lang="EN-GB" paraeid="{1e8b9452-d5c9-4b44-b12e-4464f0e453f0}{155}" paraid="837433930" xml:lang="EN-GB">Weston College and University Centre Weston alumni Jack Kimmins is proving his amazing talents in computing as he is selected for the finals of the WorldSkills national competition. </p>
<drupal-entity alt=""Jack Kimmins"" data-align="right" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{"image_style":"max_500x500","image_link":""}" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5e191934-e365-4e35-b636-dd8482aa3e57" data-langcode="en"></drupal-entity>
<p lang="EN-GB" paraeid="{3e894158-dc2d-47b1-ad8f-696acda90106}{212}" paraid="333486024" xml:lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://www.worldskillsuk.org/">WorldSkills UK</a> is an independent charity that works with employers, education and governments, supporting young people across the world via competitions-based training, testing their ability to achieve world-class standards in the biennial ‘skills olympics’. </p>
<p lang="EN-GB" paraeid="{57e2f1d7-18cc-4ac5-bcc2-25d6a27d09bb}{76}" paraid="1320591153" xml:lang="EN-GB">Over 3,000 people registered to take part in the UK-wide competitions in March 2021 and Jack is one of 400 who made it into the finals, which is split into 64 disciplines.</p>
<p>Jack is competing in the Web Design category which is to take place in Weston-super-Mare, hosted by Weston College.</p>
<p>Talking about the selection process, Jack commented: "To get into the finals, I first had to make it into the semi-finals, which involved creating a suitable website design that met a predefined client's brief. Then, to qualify for the national finals, I had to build a website using HTML and CSS that met specific requirements and that was based upon a website wireframe design."</p>
<p lang="EN-GB" paraeid="{a3f7ba3c-a6a6-4e68-b420-848930eec348}{144}" paraid="977226024" xml:lang="EN-GB">The College will host the prestigious WorldSkills UK National Web Design Competition from Wednesday 17<sup>th</sup> November – Friday 19<sup>th</sup> November, with the winners being crowned at a ceremony hosted by TV presenter Steph McGovern from her Packed Lunch studio on Friday 26 November. </p>
<p lang="EN-GB" paraeid="{a918904d-3de7-4241-a373-3eb573130dcf}{186}" paraid="736473802" xml:lang="EN-GB">This exciting announcement is just one of the fantastic career enhancing opportunities available at the college, through the newly launched <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwesto…; rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Career Excellence Hubs.</a> </p>
<p lang="EN-GB" paraeid="{a918904d-3de7-4241-a373-3eb573130dcf}{189}" paraid="1159169574" xml:lang="EN-GB">At the College each subject area forms its own specific Career Excellence Hub, endorsed by relevant sector employers which help to create a study programme with lots of career boosting benefits, WorldSkills competing opportunities is one of these.</p>
<p lang="EN-GB" paraeid="{a918904d-3de7-4241-a373-3eb573130dcf}{189}" paraid="1159169574" xml:lang="EN-GB">Jack continued: "The support that I have been provided throughout my journey with WorldSkills has been excellent. I have attended every meeting and practice session available to me, which has enabled me to focus on the distinct details of the competition.</p>
<p>"I'm very proud that I have made it this far in the competition and to represent my university in the national finals.</p>
<p>"This opportunity has enabled me to expand my knowledge and practical abilities with web development. It is also given me more self-trust in my abilities, as it being a competition, the nature of it requires you to have a degree of confidence in your skills to be successful in it."</p>
<p>We wish Jack the very best of luck with the finals and continuing to succeed with his Masters degree. A <em>very</em> bright future ahead!</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="www.weston.ac.uk/computing">Click here to read more about our Computing and IT department, including the Career Excellence Hubs</a></p>
<p><a href="https://weston.ac.uk/news/congratulations-our-worldskills-uk-national-f… here to read more about our other WorldSkills Finalists</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p lang="EN-GB" paraeid="{a3f7ba3c-a6a6-4e68-b420-848930eec348}{144}" paraid="977226024" xml:lang="EN-GB"> </p>
