COURSES FOR SCHOOL LEAVERS
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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
The Wessex Academy of Performing Arts (WAPA) at the College has welcomed two visiting lecturers from one of the entertainment capitals of the world, Las Vegas.
Michael Lugering, Professor of Acting, and Louis Kavouras, Professor of Dance, both from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), spent two days running specialist master classes for students on Foundation Degrees in Performing Arts and Musical Theatre, run in partnership with Bath Spa University, as part of a recently launched collaborative performance project between WAPA and UNLV.
The project involves a number of staff exchanges, along with the sharing of workshops via platforms including Skype, Facetime and YouTube. This will culminate in a unique joint performance in two different time zones via Skype in April 2015 which will be televised across the USA.
The partnership between the two institutions will also potentially provide students with the opportunity to study in Las Vegas, and students from UNLV will be joining WAPA students to perform at Move It! 2015, a large national dance event in London.
Beau Coleman, 22, is studying the BA (Hons) in Performing Arts. She said: “The workshops have been really interesting. My favourite part was breaking down the aspects of a movement and learning how emotions influence movements. I think this partnership is going to be fantastic for the future students, and everyone is really excited about it already.”
Michael Lugering said: “We’ve loved working with the fantastic staff and students in the wonderful spaces they have available to them here at Weston College. It was very important for us to come and have a face-to-face interaction with them in a real space. Our challenge going forward will be to maintain the connection we have built once we return to the States. I am hopeful though that the power of performance will transcend the physical distance.”
The workshops run by Michael and Louis form part of a suite of workshops organised by WAPA and run by visiting professionals, including:
- Tim Richards who teaches the MA in Musical Theatre at Royal Welsh College in Cardiff
- Dr Ed Blake, a leading physiotherapist from Harley Street, who came to talk about the physiology of the voice and specific medical disorders relating to the vocal organs
- Joe Miller, Resident Director for Spirit Productions, who came to teach choreographies for the shows WAPA take on tour
WAPA maintains many close links with employers and professionals, and students will continue to benefit from the embedding of such workshops within the degree courses run at Weston College.
The Wessex Academy of Performing Arts (WAPA) at the College has welcomed two visiting lecturers from one of the entertainment capitals of the world, Las Vegas.
Professional make-up artist Jennifer Lenard took a break from working on the set of the upcoming period drama Fanny Lye Deliver'd to guest lecture at Weston College on Tuesday (29th March).
Jennifer, who specialises in airbrushing, wig making and prosthetics, began her career working on TV productions such as Last of the Summer Wine, Dalziel and Pascoe, and Dancing on Ice, and her recent credits include The Office, Doctor Who, Pride and Prejudice, and Star Trek.
She came to Weston College to demonstrate a variety of airbrushing techniques to the College’s Hair and Media, and Level 2 Beauty students. She transformed College student Jessica Rees, age 17, into a geisha – complete with kimono – and answered question about working in the professional make-up industry.
Sandra Bull, Weston College’s Hair and Beauty Curriculum Manager, said: “Jennifer is a BAFTA award winning hair and media make-up artist with extensive industry experience and so it was a huge pleasure to have her here working with our students.
“Having influential demonstrations and instruction from key industry professionals is a great way to raise student aspirations and for them to see how exciting the hair and beauty industry is to be working within.”
Weston College’s Hair and Beauty Centre is available to the public and offers a range of hair and beauty treatments at competitive prices. All treatments are performed to a very high standard by trainees under the supervision of experienced, qualified staff.
For more information or to book an appointment, contact the Hair and Beauty Centre at hair&beauty@weston.ac.uk.
For anyone over the age of 19 and looking to return to education, financing your course can seem like a huge hurdle. However, there are a variety of options when it comes to helping you pay for your course – some people may even find that they are eligible to take a course for free.
We’ve broken down how to pay for your course, along with which icons and symbols to look out for on the course pages.
Full fees and supported fees
On the left of our course pages there is a box labelled ‘financial information’ which is where you will see the course fees and any relevant icons and symbols. The fee listed here, whether supported or full, is the absolute maximum fee anyone will pay for that course.
‘Full’ fees are exactly what they sound like – the full fee for the course. If something is listed as a ‘supported’ fee, this means that funding is available to the College to discount the course’s ‘full’ fee. Therefore, if a course says it has a ‘supported’ fee, this means that the full fee has been discounted for all people taking the course and you will only have to pay the final supported fee.
Although not all of our courses have a supported fee, the amount you see is the maximum you will have to pay.
Free* courses
Some courses have the above symbol in their financial information, which means some people qualify for free tuition and won’t have to pay anything for that particular course.
In order to get courses with this symbol for free, you will need to meet certain conditions. Although these conditions may differ depending on the course, if you click on the symbol a screen will pop-up that will tell you which specific conditions you have to meet.
When you click the symbol, it might say this:
“The qualification you have chosen to study is part of the Legal Entitlements list and you are aged 19-23 at the start of your course and you do not already have a qualification at Level 3 or higher.”
This condition means that if you don’t already have a Level 3 qualification (such as AS/A Levels, NVQ Level 3, BTEC Extended Diploma, Advanced Apprenticeship etc.) and are aged 19-23 when you start the course, you will not have to pay any fees. However, if you do have a Level 3 qualification or are aged 24+, you will have to pay the full or supported fee displayed.
When you click the symbol, it might say something a bit different, such as:
“This course is Free* if you are:
Receiving Universal Credit, earn less than 16 times the national minimum wage a week or less than £330 a month and are determined by JCP as being in one of the following groups: All Work Related Requirement Group, Work Preparation Group, Work Focused Interview Group
Unemployed and receiving JSA/ESA or wider benefits.
Or
Aged 19-23 at the start of your course and you do not already have any qualifications at Level 2 or higher and you intend to study at this level in the future.”
When you this message, it is clearly stating the conditions that must be met in order to complete the course for free. In the first part, you must meet all of the listed conditions in order to qualify for free tuition.
However, if you don’t meet the conditions listed in the first part, you may still qualify for free tuition in the next condition which again clearly lists all the conditions you must meet to be eligible.
Remember, you must meet everything listed in the first condition, or everythinglisted in the second condition. Otherwise, you must pay the full or supported fee listed.
24+
If you see this symbol and you do not qualify for free tuition/there is no Free* symbol, then you might be able to apply for an advanced learner loan to finance the course.
Advanced Learner Loans are available to anyone aged 19 or over (this used to be 24, however was reduced to 19), and is not means tested or based on your income or current financial situation. Also, your current qualifications will not stop you from taking out a loan regardless of the level.
These loans can be used to pay for qualifications at Level 3 or above.
For more information on Advanced Learner Loans, see our information page here.
ELC
Enhanced Learning Credits (ELC) are available to serving members of the British Armed Forces, or those who have recently left. To be eligible, you must meet certain criteria according to the ELC scheme, and there are two tiers of funding available depending on length of service.
For more information about the ELC scheme, visit www.enhancedlearningcredits.com.
WHICH LEVEL IS RIGHT FOR ME?
