T levels or BTEC?

And yes there are more random gaps in A level timetable due to different combinations of subjects.

Our BTEC students have gaps in their timetable too. Think timetabling tries to give them all a full day off instead of too many gaps.
T levels are meant to be a full 5 days.

Vocational courses can be compressed to 3 days in college as everyone is on the same course. A levels are the same teaching time, but because students choose different course combinations they end up with gaps due to timetabling.

Any study 12 hours or over per week classed as full
time for child benefit purposes.

We call extended diplomas full time but in reality they are 3 days a week (18 ish hours/ week).

The health and social care or childcare diplomas included alternate weekly placements. They converted readily to T level. The others not so much.

My DDs extended diploma Btech was full time and she had to do at least a 100 hours non paid works placements.

Quality of work placements will be variable. Employers say they want a work ready work force (but even if you change to a similar role there’s still settling in period/ new procedures etc) but not many are stepping forward to provide placements.

Universities haven’t all decided on how they fit in re entry requirements.

They’re designed to be 5 days a week. BTEC level 3 is around 3 days. A levels about the same.

I'm pretty much the least pro T-level person ever, but why wouldn't a part time job be possible with T-levels?

IMO, the biggest issue with them is that the work placements do make it really difficult to resit GCSEs alongside.

It depends on the subject, but the funding is being withdrawn in stages, so some BTECs are losing funding from this September, some from September 2025, and so on. It is a bit of a mess as there have been lots of teething troubles with T-levels and they aren't suitable for all students. Do you know which BTEC you would be considering?

I know the FE colleges in Cornwall seem to be trying to keep their BTECs going for as long as they can. Could you realistically get to any of the Cornwall College campuses? Or I think Callywith in Bodmin do quite a range of Level 3 BTECs and have students commuting from parts of Devon to them? But may possibly already be full for some courses?

If you're the other side of Plymouth, then what about Exeter College? They're massive and AFIAK offer a huge range of courses including most Level 3 BTECs. Again, students commute a really long way to them, so he wouldn't be the only one!

Glad you managed to find an appropriate solution.

I'm not sure any level 3 qualifications are perfect.

Which is a real shame.
Many college students work pt jobs to support themselves or family. This won’t be possible with T levels unfortunately.
You can take a BTEC from level 1 all the way through to level 4/5. (Effectively pre GCSE through to year 2 of uni/ HND)

Hi I am based in Devon and nearest college would be Plymouth city college. During an open evening they said they are now stopping BTECs in favour of T-Levels due to government stopping funding BTECs. Had anyone else heard this? I think my D's would be more suited to the BTEC then T levels plus I worry about the placement side of things. It's very frustrating.

T-Level completion rates this year have been very low. Only 66% of students who started a T-Level in 2021 completed it this year: https://feweek.co.uk/t-levels-results-2023-1-in-3-students-dropped-out/.

Ofsted (not the most reliable source, I know) gave a poor review to current providers of T-Levels, highlighting a great degree of variability among providers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/t-level-thematic-review-final-report/t-level-thematic-review-final-report.

It does look like there are some teething troubles, or fundamental design flaws.

Hi, I am interested in this thread as my son has been offered a t level option in business administration and management. He was initially registered to go on the btec business studies course which I have been told is equivalent to 3 A levels.
The T level option does sound intriguing but what’s not clear is whether they find you the placement and is this guaranteed? The recent ofsted report had mixed reviews. What does interest us is the work placement option and the opportunity to get foot in the door on a full time apprenticeship. However, my son also prefers a coursework based assessment as opposed to exams that are a key feature of the T Level framework. We might go see the college next week for some more clarification but any further information around these points would be appreciated if anyone can add anything. Thank you

@Postapocalypticcowgirl My point was more that if they offer a 2 A level equivalent BTEC, surely they need to offer at least 1 thing that is 1 A level / equivalent?

Otherwise anyone on the BTEC won't count as full time and thus they wouldn't get funding for them. Whether it will be suitable or not is another matter of course.

@Postapocalypticcowgirl Thanks very much for that explanation.

I would avoid the T level too tbh. If he can do the 2 AL equivalent BTEC plus one other AL or BTEC, even if the latter is in a subject he isn't particularly interested in, that would be a better option.

My worry about T Levels is that there won’t be enough employers to support the work based hours.
I would be asking questions to ensure there is stability.

Many students do 2 different btecs. Alternatively he could go to another college which does the extended diploma.

Funding for most BTECs hasn't been withdrawn yet. The current plan is for most BTECs to be phased out over the next few years BUT there are lots of issues with this, and the hope is that the government will listen and put this on hold.

At the moment, the last cohort for most BTECs will start in 2024 or 2025.

Some BTECs, particularly in the arts, I believe will remain long term as there isn't an equivalent T-level.

One final point re T-levels in Cornwall is that Plymouth uni don't seem to accept them at all and Exeter will only accept them for very limited courses. Both accept BTECs widely. Obviously this may change in two years time (and it may have to if the changes to BTECs go through).

Most students don't want to pretty much rule out two of their closest university options at 16.

I thought T Levels had replaced BTecs are they running alongside each other now?