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
Exams are just around the corner and revision is getting into full flow. We want to help make the process as painless as possible for you, so we have looked into 5 revision apps which you can download right now to get you prepared for exam season...
Gojimo
Gojimo was created by the Telegraph and is the UK’s most popular revision app, giving you access to over 40,000 practice questions. This app covers a wide range of subjects, from exam boards such as AQA, CCEA, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC. The app features questions from 28 GCSE subjects, and 20 A Level subjects, giving you a great platform to prepare for your exams.
The app is also a great tool to track your progress, and by taking the quizzes it can be a fun way of revising. It will give you instant feedback and also detailed explanations which can help you learn from your mistakes.
Quizlet
Quizlet allows you to create study sets and according to research 95% of students who learn with Quizlet improved their results. Through Quizlet you can access revision cards which have already been made, or you can create your own to share with your friends. There are also games which offer a different way to test your skills and learn new information.
Revision App
The suitably named app has over one million revision notes, flashcards and quizzes. If you are a visual learner then you can also watch videos, allowing you to go back over any topics that you don’t feel quite so confident with. By offering such a variety of tools, this app will help ensure you feel suitably prepared for your exams.
This app makes it easier for store all your revision tools in one place, as you can tailor the app to your courses and level.
SelfControl
If you are a procrastinator then this app will allow you to make more effective use of your time. SelfControl blocks websites in a set time period to stop the temptation of checking your newsfeeds and helps you to put your full focus on the task at hand.
Simple Mind
This app gives you the chance to create mind maps, it is easy to use and allows you to colour code, add images and keep all the vital information you need in one easily accessible place. An advantage of this app is that you can use it across platforms, so whether it be on your computer at home, or on your phone whilst out and about, this is a great revision tool.
Art and Design courses are exciting opportunities to let your creativity flow. If you’re undecided on whether or not to study an art course, here are our top 4 reasons as to why you should.
Learn a range of techniques
Our courses cover a wide selection of skills, such as painting, drawing, ceramics and photography. We will teach you new techniques, and develop your existing skills.
College facilities
Weston College has excellent facilities, we are always looking to improve the learner environment to ensure you are supported throughout your learning. We have purpose built art studios based at our Loxton Campus which will provide you with all the resources needed to develop.
Top class lecturers
Our lecturers have industry experience, and they will teach you the relevant skills needed for when you complete the course. It’s not just us that think our lecturers are great, they were also rated as outstanding by Ofsted.
Future opportunities
The industry is expected to grow 5.3% in the build up to 2024, which will provide you with more job opportunities. Art and Design covers an array of exciting occupations, from illustration to teaching, there are lots of opportunities for you. There is also the potential to earn huge sums of money, whilst working in a job you love.
If you would like more information on our Art and Design courses click here.
Construction is a vital contributor to the regional economy.
And it’s set to increase in importance with a number of projects either in development or planned.
The Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset is the largest construction project in Europe. Four thousand businesses in the south west are registered to work on the project and, by 2020, there will be £200m of spending each year in the local economy.
Public housing is another key area of regional growth, with the south west set to buck the UK trend and grow at 3.7% to 2021. Plus, the government’s pledge to build 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s, will also impact the region.
However, these developments – and issues such as Brexit – have highlighted a significant problem: demand is outstripping supply of skilled workers. In fact, a shortage of construction workers faced by small and medium-sized businesses has hit its worst level on record.
With over 20,000 new jobs being created in the region up to 2021, action is needed.
At Weston College, we’re taking the bull by the horns by developing a purpose-built Construction Training Centre This £3.8m project, which adds to our already comprehensive range of construction training courses, is based just off Junction 21 of the M5, and is due to open in spring 2019.
It addresses the shortage of infrastructure construction skills, and targets three areas where the shortage is at its most acute – plant operations, scaffolding, and groundworks.
But what makes this centre unique is that it’s geared towards fulfilling genuine commercial need and to providing training on demand.
Over the last decade, we’ve built strong relationships with employers to develop our apprenticeship provision. And it’s become increasingly apparent that commercial organisations want training at the point of need – not just for school leavers during the academic year.
Once the new centre is up and running, employers can come to us at any time for short courses, top-up courses, and to up-skill staff who are taking on new roles. We’ll also provide apprenticeships in these new areas when they’re required.
School leavers are able to take advantage of the available training at Weston College at our existing centre at South West Skills Campus on Locking Road. The new Construction Training Centre will also allow us to provide bespoke training at short notice, and react to the realities of the commercial world.
What’s more, construction employers, trade organisations and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), who match-funded the project with some £3.3m through the Local Growth Fund, administered by the West of England Combined Authority, have all been fully engaged in informing the building design and offer.
But, as with any project of this nature, much of its success relies on the strategic partnerships it involves and we’re extremely fortunate to be working with highly professional, market-leading organisations.
We have a long-running relationship with Midas Construction, who are commissioned to build the centre. They understand the College, our priorities and how to provide the learning environment that students need. Midas are also a key member of the employers’ forum that drives the content of the new centre’s curriculum.
We’re also working closely with Simian Risk to deliver scaffolding training. We worked hard to identify a strategic partner for the centre and are delighted to be working with Simian, who are national leaders in the field of scaffolding safety, training and assessment.
For more information on the Construction Training Centre, please click here.
WHICH LEVEL IS RIGHT FOR ME?
