Tlevel, Btec, UAL level 3 diploma?

[Toomuchchoices]

DD who is going into year 11 doesn’t want to do A levels; she is creative and not academic and cant wait to finish school. She said she wants to go to college, work part time. She has also mentioned apprenticeships.

So we are looking at options for year 12 but there is too much choice so would be grateful for advice. I am thinking one subject will be better, something practical so maybe T levels or UAL level 3 diploma.

Likely to end with 4 and 5s in GCSE. Not sure she wants to go to university.

If she chooses Btecs in sixth form college? Does she need to do 3? How is this accessed?

T levels and UAL level 3 diploma: How many hours per were they study?

College or Sixth form school?

When do we apply? Can we apply for various courses and decide next year?

Need to go to open days but have to narrow choices first as it will be a busy year with GCSE

There are threads on the Further Education board that will help. (It's confusing, but Higher Ed is uni level).

You can do 1 BTEC extended level 3 diploma which is 3 A levels equivalent.
Or a BTEC level 3 certificate which is 1 A level
Or, less common a diploma which is 2 A level equivalent.

So in theory you could do 3 different BTEC certificates, but it to me seems more common to mix and match 1 or 2 certificates with 2 or 1 A levels.

T levels are the size of 3 A levels.

You need to do 3 A level equivalent to count as being 'full time'. Which is about 3 days full time teaching but may stretch over 4 or 5 days due to timetabling.

6th form or college depends on your local offer.

Apply by Christmas (local deadlines), you can apply and accept as many as you like, keep your options open.

If y11 goes wrong you can start at level 2 or even level 1.

Thank you. This is helpful

Yes you can apply for lots of different options, and don't need to actually decide until Results Day for the most part. Some 6th forms that are really popular will only reserve a place for you if you tell them that they are first choice, but even if you tell them so there's no actual obligation to choose them.

a UAL Level 3 Diploma is generally 15 hours a week most weeks but depending on which specialisation may be 40-60 hours work or more during peak weeks 6-8 weeks of the year. They aren't a dossy option and the written projects that the students have to produce to evidence their learning and development have to be of an exceptionally high standard to get more than a Pass grade. Students who have been resistant to school work and squeezing by at GCSE 4/5 level in senior school do really need to shift up a gear to do well. However the focus on creativity may inspire the will to do just that.

Thank you. Good point regarding the written work as this is not DD strength; but not sure what other options we have.

I'm an advocate for BTEC, Art isn't my subject but the BTEC extended diploma is equivalent to 3 A Levels.

https://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/BTEC-Nationals/art-and-design-practice/specification/BTEC-Level-3-National-Art-and-Design-Practice-Issue-2.pdf
From the spec it isn't just what we might think of as 'Art' as in drawing and painting, it does cover that, but also you can use photography CAD and sound.

T Levels I do not like I think they will go the way of the GNVQ. BTEC has been around for decades, and before that the BEC/TEC qualifications go back even further.

UAL I have no experience or knowledge of, but others here obviously do.

My DD is about to start the UAL Extended Diploma in Art and Design. We have the timetable as of yesterday and she has 16 hours of teaching time, though I imagine there will be more work to do outside of that, if GCSE Art is anything to go by!

She applied for a few different options and decided after results day. She could have done ALevels with her grades, but she is more creative than academic and Art is her main interest so this seemed a better fit. I’m happy to let you know more about it once she’s started. I have found very little online about this qualification from parents or students so I only really know what we saw and were told when we visited colleges.

Thank you. A bit concerned about the written part/portfolios of the UAL level 2/3 diploma