T levels?

[Beautifulsunflowers]

What do people know about these? Ds is keen to do a t level in engineer/mechanics. He also hadn’t ruled out going to university. Do universities accept t levels for engineering subjects? I’ve looked at a couple and they aren’t listed in their entry requirements.
Also - does anyone have any experience of college vs sixth form? Do colleges provide pastoral support? Do they help with university applications?
thanks in advance for any replies!

Normally Universities look for A levels in Maths and Physics (sometimes Further Maths) for Engineering

T levels are new but have lots of govt backing, the treasury has spent £1billion on setting them up, so far 6,700 students have participated. In the long term the govt would like to phase out btecs and have either A levels or T levels. But they have a low profile with the public and some 6th form colleges won't take them on due to the cost/risk in setting up the courses.

If your ds has found a college that is currently teaching the T level he is interested in then he should consider it, they have 100% backing from the DfE and every obstacle is being removed to make them a success. They are worth UCAS points.

Not every university accepts them as they’re not considered suitable prep by the uni, so if he’s firm on uni he will be ruling some places out.

Theyre new and there are some substantial teething issues, including with work placements and exam content - the health one particularly

Profile with employers is also not what it should be.

I would be asking lots of questions about the placement, the grades students have previously got on the qualification and the make up of the specialism.

Following this, as DD is applying for the Digital Design, Production & Development. She is highly academic, but also autistic - she and we think the work placement will be beneficial for her.

She thinks she might like to go straight into work for a few years before university.

Our thinking is that if she ends up wanting to go to a university that doesn't accept T-levels, she will do A levels or a suitable access course then. She's home educated at the moment, so capable of studying independently.