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QUALIFICATIONS EXPLAINED
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.
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 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.
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.
LATEST NEWS
Andy wanted to be a chef from a very young age.
His parents couldn’t keep him out of the kitchen, especially when it came to occasions like dinner parties. Andy loved experimenting in the kitchen and his brother would often play ‘guinea pig’ by trying his creations!
Andy trained at Weston College from 1988 to 1990. Once qualified, he took his first job in a little two-rosette French restaurant in the Bristol area.
After two years of intense training and hard work, he took his first large hotel job at Bristol Marriott Royal. He saw this as an opportunity to develop skills in other areas, such as large banqueting and busy bistro style food, as well as dipping in and out of the fine dining restaurant.
After three years and two promotions, he moved on to moat house hotels, working at the Crowne Plaza and The Billesley Manor Hotel - a two-rosette property.
Andy’s first head chef job was with Novotel Bristol. After just three years, he became the company’s development chef for the UK!
Andy has enjoyed many travel opportunities – working in countries such as Morocco, Philippines and Thailand for the Sofitel Hotels and Resorts five-star brand. He loved every minute of working abroad, seeing different cultures and learning all about new flavours and cooking methods.
Andy worked as executive chef for Novotel UK for 12 years before leaving to work in a similar capacity within the Devere Hotel Group.
Andy is now heading up the team at Backwell house and loves the luxury boutique hotel environment.
He uses his wealth of industry experience to mentor the next generation with his masterclasses at Weston College.
See what course we offer here or contact us on 01934 411 411.
Weston College will provide education in 19 prisons across England after successfully bidding for three major contracts.
Since 2012, the College has operated in nine prisons across the South West.
Following a revamp of the procurement process, it retained contracts for the South West, and was also selected as the provider for the South East region. The three contracts, worth £15.7 million per year, cover Avon and South Dorset, Devon and North Dorset and Kent, Surrey and Sussex. They begin on April 1. The Weston College brand will now appear in the educational facilities in all 19 prisons.
Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, said: “It speaks volumes for the results we achieved under the previous system, that we have been selected to deliver education in an additional ten prisons.
“Our dedicated team of staff work tirelessly to change the lives of the prison learners, and improve their prospects of employment on release.
“This is a major endorsement from the Ministry of Justice of those efforts, and we’re extremely proud to be one of just four national providers of prison education across England.
“That said, delivering education in prison is always challenging and we’ll continue to work with prison governors, staff, partners and employers to ensure the quality of our provision remains as high as possible.”
The new Prison Education Framework (PEF), which replaces the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS), will provide a core curriculum of education in each prison. The providers – including Weston College – will deliver the curriculum in the prisons.
The reforms are designed to enable providers to be more flexible and creative in giving individuals the skills they need to unlock their potential, gain employment and become assets to their communities.
Weston College delivers a wide range of courses in the prison, including catering, English, maths, customer service, art, carpentry, plastering and bricklaying.
College lecturers recently held a series of successful MasterChef-style competitions in prisons across the south west. Prison learners were taught a range of catering skills before putting them to the test and cooking a meal of their own. Prison governors then chose the winner after sampling the dishes.
Hello, I’m Sharna. I’m a Business Administration apprentice, in the Traineeship team at Weston College.
For National Apprenticeship Week, I am going to be telling you about my experience as an apprentice, here at Weston College.
I started my apprenticeship in March 2018 and it has been a really exciting journey. I was very anxious to start my new job as I had never worked in an office environment before and I wasn’t familiar with this sort of work. As soon as I started everyone was so nice to me, and always willing to help which allowed me to settle in quickly.
Being a part of the Weston College team has allowed me to develop my skills and knowledge within the business admin sector. I was very fortunate to be invited to attend the 2018 Business Awards, which gave me a chance to witness the hard work and dedication it takes to be a Weston College employee. I was also given the opportunity to work on social media throughout the night, which was a great experience.
Throughout my time working in the Training Solutions team, I have been given multiple opportunities to support the staff as well as the learners - providing administration and recruitment support. This is something which I have really enjoyed, as I have been able to influence learner outcomes and development.
I would recommend an apprenticeship to anyone who is looking for experience and to try something new. It is the perfect way to get the work experience you need to kick off your career. I haven’t looked back since starting my apprenticeship, it was definitely the right route for me to take, and it has allowed me to get my foot in the door at Weston College.
For more information on apprenticeships, click here.
WHICH LEVEL IS RIGHT FOR ME?
