Activate Learning celebrates T Levels Week

This year, T Levels Week is taking place from the 2–7 December!

Colleges and other organisations nationwide will celebrate the new qualification which blends classroom-based learning with an industry placement.

With a new academic year and new T Level programmes on offer nationwide, students, staff and employers will celebrate the Technical Level which blends classroom-based learning with an industry placement.

We’ll be shouting about our successes, sharing student and employer stories and highlighting our range of T Level programmes in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Surrey.

Keep reading to learn more about T Levels and join in with the celebrations!

What are T Levels?

T Levels (Technical Levels) are equivalent to three A Levels.

These technical and vocational qualifications were introduced by the government to meet the demand of various industries. Industries that require highly skilled and practical workforces.

T Level programmes are co-designed with employers to develop the skills and knowledge students need to progress. Students can go on to university, higher apprenticeships or directly enter skilled employment.

In comparison to A Levels, T Level programmes offer substantial industry placement (20%) alongside classroom-based learning (80%).

This combination of learning and on-the-job training allows students to put skills and knowledge gained from lessons into meaningful practice in the workplace.

During a two-year programme, students will undertake more than 315 hours of invaluable industry placement!

Other resources

Learn more about T Levels:

T Levels Health at Activate Learning

T Level Health programmes are offered at Banbury and Bicester College, Bracknell and Wokingham College, City of Oxford College, Guildford College, and Reading College.

What do students say about our T Level Health programme?

In August 2024, Bracknell and Wokingham College celebrated their first cohort of T Levels students completing their second year, with some fantastic results.

One of the students, Scarlett Hutton, 18, from Bracknell, achieved a Merit grade in T Level Health. In her first year, she did a placement at Wokingham Community Hospital. In her second year, she did a placement at Wexham Park Hospital. She has since go on study Primary School Education at the University of Brighton.

Scarlett said: “I decided to study a Health T Level because I enjoyed doing Health and Social Care GCSE at secondary school.

 

Group photo of all the Health T Level students with their teacher Wendy Gibbs in the centre

“It was good. It was well taught by my teacher Wendy. It was good that we were able to do practical lessons in the Care Skills Training Centre which helped us to understand what we were learning in the classroom and how to do things.

“Doing a placement was good to help expand our understanding on things. It was tiring as it’s a lot of workload but it was manageable. It shows you what it would be like if you went into the careers within healthcare.

“It helped us because we got to see first-hand what it’s like to work in that environment because in my first year I got to work alongside physios and in my second year I worked with nurses and healthcare assistants. It shows you two different careers, so I got to see the differences in healthcare.

T Levels Digital Production, Design and Development at Activate Learning

T Level Digital Production, Design and Development programmes are offered at City of Oxford College:  Technology Campus in Blackbird Leys and Reading College. We plan to launch this programme at Guildford College in the next academic year.

What do students say about our T Level Digital Production, Design and Development programme?

Here’s what a previous Digital Production, Design and Development students at the Blackbird Leys Technology Campus, had to say:

Martin Gurasvili said: “T Levels are beneficial to students who are set on a career path. It’s more specific than other courses and you also get on-the-job work experience in your chosen field.

“Coming from a GCSE Computer Science course, it met my expectations of further knowledge and projects in a nice balanced way.

“No formal examinations have been good as it relieves the pressure. We get a lot of mocks and feedback on assignments, which paints a picture of where we are at as well as what areas to improve for the next time.”

Asa Masterson said: “I think T Levels are good for anyone who likes to be more interactive and hands-on and enjoys practice to test their knowledge.

“We are learning a wide variety of topics which gives us a lot of skills and opportunities for the upcoming world of work placement.”

Read Asa’s Digital Production, Design and Development student case study. 

Eisa Mohammad said: “Work experience is well integrated and replaces one of the days that would otherwise be for class.

“You get taught other useful real-world skills that aren’t just computing-related.

“Real-world projects from employers are incorporated and you work alongside them. You learn to present work and receive feedback directly from people working in the industry.

Harry Aries said: It is making us more work ready with work experience. The subjects covered inside the college help when doing placements outside of college.

“The tutors cover each subject equally and tasks are done in various ways. This includes presentations, programming, written and practical tasks.”

What do employers say about T Levels at Activate Learning?

Activate Learning works alongside some incredible employer partners to deliver the T Levels programmes. SSE is one of these employer partners, here’s what they had to say:

“The level of skill and ability of all three of our T level participants has impressed us and provided a quality resource to our teams.

“As an energy company in a rapidly growing and changing skills sector, it is for us to have access to young people with digital skills to support us to achieve our net-zero goal.

“T Levels have given two of our businesses the opportunity to provide meaningful work experience to students who may not have considered SSE as a destination employer.

“We trust our involvement and support will both raise our employer brand and provide the students with an excellent real-life experience.”

What T Levels do we offer at Activate Learning?

We currently offer T Level programmes at all Activate Learning colleges. Most T Level programmes having started, and others will begin in September 2024.

City of Oxford College

Our T Level programmes at City of Oxford College (City Centre Campus and Blackbird Leys Technology Campus*) include:

Banbury and Bicester College

Our T Level programmes at Banbury and Bicester College from September 2024 include:

Bracknell and Wokingham College

Our T Level programmes at Bracknell and Wokingham College include:

Farnham College

Our T Level programmes at Farnham College include:

Guildford College

Our T Level programmes at Guildford College include:

Merrist Wood College and University Centre

Our T Level programmes at Merrist Wood College and University Centre from September 2024 include:

Reading College and University Centre

Our T Level programmes at Reading College include:

Be sure to join us in the #TLevelsWeek celebrations on Activate Learning’s social media channels from 2–7 December!