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Student Transition

We promote and support all pathways here at St Mary’s. Every year many of our students go on to pursue their technical and vocational careers through local colleges, T Levels and apprenticeships.

The careers programme includes a number of focussed events to support student transition at key stages including Futures Meetings in Year 11, Options Evening in Year 9 and UCAS support in Year 13.

What are T Levels?

T Levels are new two year qualifications which started in September 2020. They are educational courses with an employment placement designed to follow on from GCSEs and are equivalent to three A Levels.

T Levels offer students a mixture of primarily classroom based learning with on the job experience during an industry placement of at least 45 days.

You can find out more about T Levels through this Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal link: 

https://www.hopinto.co.uk/employers/t-levels-and-industry-placements/guides/t-levels-and-industry-placements/ 

What is an apprenticeship?

An apprenticeship is a paid job where the employee learns and gains valuable experience whilst obtaining a qualification at the same time.

There are 4 types of apprenticeship qualification levels:

  • Intermediate (Level 2) typically considered to be the same level as five GCSE passes.
  • Advanced (Level 3) considered to be the same as two or three A level passes.
  • Higher (Level 4 and above) apprenticeships are most suitable for those looking to progress from a Level 3.
  • Degree (Levels 6 – 7) apprenticeships offered by universities and other higher education providers and can go up to master’s level.

To look for an apprenticeship we recommend you register on the Government website https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship and use this to search. We also recommend reaching out to employers directly and searching through their websites under their vacancy section or young talent section to see if they offer apprenticeships.

You can find out more about Apprenticeships through this Hertfordshire Oppoortunities Portal link:

https://www.hopinto.co.uk/explore-careers/all-about-apprenticeships/

Amazing Apprenticeships publish a Higher and Degree Level vacancy list bi-annually. You can explore 350+ Higher and Degree Apprenticeship vacancies, discover vacancy details from over 65 employers including; vacancy locations, salary information and direct application links. Download the degree listing in PDF format to find out more.

https://amazingapprenticeships.com/higher-degree-listing/

Local Colleges

Based on our Year 11 Leavers last year, here are some of the colleges together with website links that our students went on to study: