- About us
- About colleges
-
Corporate services
- Corporate services
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Data Protection/GDPR
-
Employment Services - college workforce
- Employment Services - college workforce
- Employment: How we support members
- Introduction & Employment Helpline
- Absence & Sickness Management
- Contracts and T&Cs
- Disciplinary, Capability & Grievance
- Employment Briefings Library
- Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
- General Employee Relations & HR Issues
- Holiday/annual leave related
- Industrial Relations
- ONS reclassification related guidance
- Pay & Pensions
- Recruitment
- Redundancy, Restructuring & TUPE
- Safeguarding/Prevent
- Workforce Benchmarking, Surveys & Research
-
Governance
- Governance
- Governance: How we support members
- Governance Timeline
- Representation
- AoC National Chairs' Council
- National Governance Professionals' Group
- Code of Good Governance
- External Governance Reviews
- Resources
- Governors Inductions
- Student Governor Inductions
- Student Governor Support Hub
- Guidance
- Hot Topics
- Governance Briefings
- Archive
-
Projects
- Projects
- Get Involved!
- Resources
- Contact the Projects Team
- Apprenticeship Workforce Development (AWD) Programme
- Creating a Greener London – Sustainable Construction Skills
- The 5Rs Approach to GCSE Maths Resits
- Creative Arts in FE 2024 – developing student voice through creativity
- DfE Multiply Capability Support Programme
- Digital Roles Across Non-digital Industries
- GCSE Resits Hub Project
- Pears Foundation Youth Social Action Programme: Phase 2
- T Level and T Level Foundation Year Provider Support Programme
- T Level Professional Development (TLPD) Offer
- The Valuing Enrichment Project
- Creative Writing in FE Anthology 2021/2022
- Resources/Guidance
- Sustainability & Climate Action Hub
- Partnerships
- Honours Nomination
- Brexit
- Ofsted Inspection Support
- Recruitment and consultancy
-
Events and training
- Events and training
- Events
- AoC Annual Conference and Exhibition 2024
- T Level and T Level Foundation Year Events
- Events and training: How we support members
- Network Meetings
- Previous Events and Webinars
- In-House Training
- Senior Leadership Development Programme
- Introducing AoC's Early Career and Experienced Managers' Programme
- Sponsorship and Exhibition Opportunities
- Funding and finance
-
Policy
- Policy
- Meet the Policy Team
- Policy: How we support members
- Policy Areas
- Policy Briefings
- Submissions
- Policy Papers & Reports
- AoC Strategy Groups
-
AoC Reference Groups
- AoC Reference Groups
- 14-16 Reference Group
- 16-18 Reference Group
- Adults (inc. ESOL) Reference Group
- Apprenticeship Reference Group
- EDI Reference Group
- HE Reference Group
- HR Reference Group
- International Reference Group
- Mental Health Reference Group
- SEND Reference Group
- Sustainability & Climate Change Reference Group
- Technology Reference Group
- WorldSkills Reference Group
- Opportunity England
-
Research unit
- Research unit
- Surveys
- MiDES Benchmarking
- Research Further
-
Research projects
- Research projects
- Investigating the impact of the apprenticeship levy on training outcomes - January 2024
- Forecasting the cost of the English HE funding system - November 2023
- Local skills improvement plans: a review of their impact and opportunities for the future
- The educational provision for 14 to 16-year-olds in further education in England
- Staying with the troublemakers: A celebration of research in FE
- Strengthening governance arrangements in the English post-16 skills system
- Data Sources
- Think Further - thought leadership in FE
-
News, campaigns and parliament
- News, campaigns and parliament
- Post-election hub
- General and mayoral election resources
-
Comms advice and resources for colleges
- Comms advice and resources for colleges
- Media relations: 10 ways to build effective relationships with the media
- How to choose a PR agency
- Legal considerations for communications and media work
- How to plan for a new build
- Crisis communications: your go-to guide
- How to handle photo consent for media and marketing
- How to evaluate a PR and media campaign
- How to react to regulation, funding and restructuring issues
- How to react quickly and effectively to the media
- Working with the media: a complete guide
- How to write a compelling case study
- How to write for the web
- College communications, marketing and campaigns community
- AoC Newsroom
- AoC Blogs
- Work in Parliament
- AoC Campaigns
- Briefings
- Communications, media, marketing and research: How we support members
-
Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Equality, diversity and inclusion blogs
- AoC’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Charter
- AoC’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Charter for further education sector organisations
- AoC’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Charter signatories
- Diversity in Leadership
- Black FE Leadership Group and AoC partnership agreement
- AoC's Equity Exchange
- Equality, diversity and inclusion: how we support members
- Equality, diversity and inclusion case studies
- ETF Inclusive Leadership Coaching Programme
- Equality, diversity and inclusion briefings
- Home
- First ever cohort of T Level students graduate
First ever cohort of T Level students graduate
First ever cohort of T Level students graduate
Peter Symonds College is celebrating the graduation today of students on the Education and Childcare T Level course, who are among the first ever cohort of students to study T Level qualifications.
Launched in September 2020 as an alternative to A levels, apprenticeships and other 16 to 19 courses, T Levels are equivalent to 3 A levels. T Levels focus on vocational skills and can help students into skilled employment, higher study or apprenticeships.
Peter Symonds was part of the first wave of colleges selected to provide T Level qualifications in September 2020, offering the Education and Childcare T Level. This first cohort has completed the two-year course and is now going on to take up university and other higher education courses or move into the workplace.
Among students who took the new T Level qualification at Peter Symonds, there was a 100% pass rate with ten out of eleven students gaining a distinction grade.
Students particularly enjoyed learning from experts actively practising in the field, with former Westgate School student, Gemma Hough, saying, “Guest speakers helped me to understand specific topics in greater depth and it was helpful to speak to people with direct recent experience.” Student Charlotte Rhodes gave the example of a visit from Norwood Nannies as “a great way of seeing possible different pathways into a career.”
Students must complete 315 hours of work experience as part of the T Level and many found this one of the most interesting aspects of the course. Student Skye Paterson said, “Theories we cover in class we get to see for ourselves in action on placement, which really helps you understand them better.”
Charlotte said, “It’s a direct route into teaching for those wanting to be a teacher and the Peter Symonds team delivering the course were brilliant; amazing, supportive and easy to get along with.”
Teacher Dawn Springate, who runs the Education and Childcare T Level at Peter Symonds College, said, “It’s been really exciting to be part of the first wave of T Level providers and a great privilege to be able to offer our students the opportunity to gain a qualification which will really help them achieve their ambitions. The students have been motivated, enthusiastic and committed and they are well-positioned to achieve their future goals.
“They’ve worked so hard and I am so proud of all they have achieved today.”
Following on from the success of the Education and Childcare T Level, Peter Symonds College will be launching a second T Level in Hairdressing, Barbering and Beauty in September 2023.
Gemma, who is now in full-time employment at a nursery, concluded, “If feels quite inspirational to be some of the first students to complete T Levels.” Skye agreed, adding, “It’s a really good course and will get a lot of recognition from other colleges and higher education providers. Interest is building and I predict more students will choose to do T Levels in future.”
![image](https://d4hfzltwt4wv7.cloudfront.net/uploads/images/PSC_T_LEVELS.jpg)