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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
Today (Thursday 12th May) Weston-super-Mare hosted the third leg of the Somerset Jubilee Jaunt; the Jaunt sees the Lord Lieutenant (the Queen’s representative in Somerset Mrs Annie Maw) take part in a 70-mile trek from Clevedon to Exmoor split into seven, ten-mile sections to celebrate the region as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, in partnership with Duke of Edinburgh leaders and students.
Whilst the other sections of the Jaunt are more rural in their approach, the Weston-super-Mare section, hosted by Weston College, saw their Duke of Edinburgh students and wider college students escort the Lord Lieutenant across a vibrant and diverse urban leg – which was designed to ensure it weaved its way through the heart of the town’s community.
The College’s Musical Theatre students sang their way around the town, with songs from the decades, the musicals and Abba on the 10-mile stretch, all with the aim of giving residents of the town a much-needed pick me up just in time for the Jubilee.
The route was also crafted to ensure the Lord Lieutenant could stop enroute to meet key organisations and their staff such as Weston Hospital, Weston Hospice Care, For All Active Living Centre, Avon Fire and Rescue Service and the Community Policing Teams, so she could pay a personal thank you in recognition of going above and beyond during the pandemic.
The Lord Lieutenant also visited teaching staff at several primary schools including Uphill, Westhaven, Windwhistle, Bournville and Ashcombe Schools as the jaunt passed by, giving children a chance to learn more about the Platinum Jubilee, ahead of the main celebrations.
Dr Paul Phillips CBE, the College Principal said, ‘We were delighted to host this walk for the Lord Lieutenant, who was really keen for this part of the Jaunt to be a chance to celebrate Weston and engage with its community’.
Lord Lieutenant, Mrs Annie Maw commented: “My ambition is to celebrate the Queen’s 70 glorious years as our monarch and to dedicate this as a Somerset tribute to her on her Platinum Jubilee.
“It was so exciting to do the third leg of this jaunt in Weston-super-Mare’s the young people who joined me, were full of enthusiasm and a delight to have accompany me. It was also great to see some of whom are participating in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme which was so close to the heart of Her Majesty’ dear late husband.”
Weston College has been announced as the national winner of the prestigious Jisc Award for Effective Use of Digital Technology in Further Education and The Careers and Enterprise Company for Innovation in Careers and Enterprise Award.
The Association of Colleges’ Beacon Awards celebrate the best and most innovative practice among UK colleges each year.
The Digital Technology award supported by Jisc celebrates an outstanding example of the use of technology designed to improve the student experience in a digital age. Weston College’s cloud-first EdTech strategy has empowered a forward-thinking organisation seeking to answer the post-pandemic question “what next?”.
Since 2016 the College has committed to integrating cloud technologies to enhance connectivity/flexibility and accessibility within teaching/learning and working. These technologies enabled the College to build learner-centric online communities and significantly improve the digital capabilities of staff and students. It also saw the College creating the UK’s first Virtual Classroom.
The second award supported by the Careers and Enterprise Company recognises, celebrates, and promotes examples of outstanding and innovative careers leadership and practice. The College was commended on its vision to mainstreaming careers excellence through a ‘whole college’ approach, to nurture talent for all learners regardless of their starting point in life.
Prior to COVID the College had already cemented a highly inclusive ‘careers not courses’ ethos through significant investment from the Principal, Dr Paul Phillips CBE in redesigning the careers programme, the creation of a highly expansive careers partnership model and by impressive CPD to create L6 Careers, Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) advisors. In lockdown, the work also benefited from significant career technology leadership such as becoming a Microsoft Showcase College and being able to flick the switch as the first FE College to offer remote MS Teams CEIAG, with timetables seamlessly moved across within 7 days of closure.
Weston College’s strategy also showed real careers agility in responding to the upskilling needs of the FE White Paper and in meeting the unprecedented student demand for careers exploration post lockdown - with the roll out of its dynamic Careers Excellence Hub model, where each faculty (14 in total) have signed its Careers Excellence Hub Charter – putting careers at the heart of its strategic plan by ‘making careers everyone’s business.’
A new Employment Centre to give hundreds of jobseekers better access to employment skills and training programmes, has opened opposite College’s Knightstone Campus in central Weston.
The new site - Weston Employment Centre - has been delivered in collaboration with Weston College, and Seetec Pluss who are delivering the government’s Restart scheme to help long-term unemployed people to find new opportunities.
The Restart Scheme is helping people who have been out of work for nine months or longer to pick up the skills they need for the modern workforce and helping them with tailored support to find suitable, sustainable jobs.
John Penrose MP marked the launch of Weston Employment Centre in an official opening attended by guests and stakeholders.
Alongside John Penrose, they were shown around the new state-of-the-art Centre to discover more about its unique partnership and talked to some the participants already benefitting its employment support.
Drew Smith, Restart Scheme Operations Director commented: “Our Restart Scheme team in Weston is currently supporting 400 individuals on their journey back into employment which is really fantastic. Even better than that, we’re working with the College to develop bespoke courses specifically for our participants.”
He continued, “The South West is predominantly one of the lowest paid areas in the country and we feel that the skills side of things is a real opportunity for us to change some of that.”
A Seetec Pluss participant on the Restart Scheme, who is also benefitting from the collaboration with Weston College, attended the opening to share her story of how she was plummeted into unemployment as a result of the pandemic. 41-year-old Jenny from Milton shared, “I’ve been unemployed for around 18 months now. I had a good job in Project Co-ordination, and I was by all means like everybody else.
“Like many people during the pandemic, I lost my job as a result of childcare problems and the financial impact of that was massive and caused me to sell a lot of my things to keep my family going. As time went on, I was increasingly isolated, and it bedded a sense of hopelessness that destroys your hope for the future.
“Seetec Pluss were a breath of fresh air; they were so welcoming, friendly and they really understood me. One of the most significant things they were able to do for me was provide me with a laptop which allowed me to reconnect with employment opportunities and create a professional job application.
“They also encouraged me to enrol with Weston College,” she continued, “so I’m now doing a Leadership and Management course to upskill and hopefully find even better employment than I was in before.
“I’m truly grateful; thank you isn’t a word that even begins to explain how grateful I am for what they’ve been able to do for me.”
Jo Watson, Weston College Group Deputy Principal said: “Seetec Pluss is a leading provider of work and wellbeing services that inspires thousands of people to find and progress in work each year, so for us this is a perfect partner, as they align with the College’s mission to create brighter futures. I would really encourage anyone who has found themselves out of work, to come and visit the new Weston Employment Centre, where I have seen first-hand how it can help individuals boost their confidence, learn and develop skills and get people back into work.”
John Penrose MP added: “The whole reason why Seetec Pluss is here and why this partnership is so important is not just because we’re coming out of a pandemic, it’s because we’d still always want organisations like this in partnership with local colleges doing what is happening here.
“It’s absolutely essential for people’s self-respect, for our overall economy, but also for the success and long-term sustainability of a community like Weston-super-Mare, that we take people who through no fault of their own just got a bit far away from the employment market and need a couple of very practical things done with them in order to get that back. The people of Weston [super-Mare] are showing the way to the rest of the country about how it could be done and how it should be done.”
Seetec Pluss supports over 40,000 people every year with a wide range of barriers, disabilities and health conditions to move towards and into work. To find out more, visit Work, Wellbeing & Employment Services - Seetec Pluss
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